Many Titles, but Not Lord of Rings

Mario Vazquez Rana of Mexico, arguably the most influential figure in the Olympic movement in the Western hemisphere, Tuesday bowed out of the developing race to succeed IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who retires next year.

Vazquez Rana, a wealthy industrialist who holds any number of titles within Olympic circles--president of Mexico’s Olympic committee, president of the Assn. of National Olympic Committees, and so on--said he “obviously [has] the merits” to be IOC president.

But, speaking to reporters at the onset of meetings here between the IOC and the 199-member Assn. of National Olympic Committees, the 67-year-old Vazquez Rana said the IOC deserves a younger leader.

Besides, he said, he couldn’t bear to leave Mexico permanently for IOC headquarters in Switzerland.

“Being out of my country for more than two weeks makes me cry,” he said through a translator.

Vazquez Rana’s announcement lends intrigue to a race that holds dramatic import for anyone interested in the future of the Olympic movement. The next president is due to be selected in July 2001 at a meeting in Moscow.

It also provided an unexpected twist to an event that’s typically noteworthy for the lengths to which the hosts go to impress the visiting officials who one day will help select a site for the Olympic Games.

Rio is already lobbying for the 2012 Summer Games, even though the host city won’t be chosen until 2005.

On the site of scenic Ft. Copacabana, about $2.8 million was spent preparing for this week’s meeting. The Brazilians went so far as to build a pedestrian bridge linking the fort to the luxury hotel across the street serving as IOC headquarters.

Meantime, delegates could hardly fail to hear the crashing surf or, perhaps more important, see the beautiful people below on world-famous Copacabana Beach.

Samaranch, speaking generally about Rio, offered this assessment: “Fantastic.”

Samaranch, a 79-year-old Spaniard, has been IOC president since 1980. His longevity is in part a testament to his political adroitness and in part to his ability to manipulate the rules to ensure 20 years atop the IOC. He and Vazquez Rana are allies, having often traveled together to far-flung locales, many times on Vazquez Rana’s private jet.

Samaranch has led the IOC to unprecedented prosperity, primarily from TV and marketing money. But under his watch the IOC also endured its worst scandal--Salt Lake City’s corruption-tainted winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

Even with a 50-point reform package enacted last December, in the wake of the Salt Lake scandal, the IOC remains very much a club that is driven by its leading personalities. Whoever becomes the next president will have considerable leeway in shaping the IOC’s agenda.

Belgium’s Jacques Rogge and Canada’s Dick Pound are widely assumed to be the leading contenders for the presidency. Each is 58.

R. Kevan Gosper of Australia, who is 66, has also indicated his interest in the post. Anita DeFrantz, 47, of Los Angeles is sometimes mentioned as a successor.

Also on most short lists is South Korea’s Kim Un Yong, 69, who like Vazquez Rana wields enormous influence within the IOC.

If they run, Kim and Gosper would have to contend with the age issue.

Asked Tuesday after announcing his departure from the race whom he thought might be the next IOC boss, Vazquez Rana coyly said with a smile, “I’m sorry. I don’t know. And even if I did know, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”