U.S. Olympic Committee head Larry Probst nominated for IOC membership

It appears the once-chilly relationship between the U.S. and the International Olympic Committee has taken another step in the right direction.

The IOC announced Tuesday that it had nominated U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman Larry Probst for membership.

Probst would become the fourth American currently serving on the world’s most powerful athletic committee, joining Anita DeFrantz, Jim Easton and Angela Ruggiero.

“I am truly honored to be nominated for membership in the IOC, and extremely grateful for the potential opportunity to serve the Olympic movement,” Probst said in a statement.

The USOC and IOC had been at odds in recent years over sharing television revenue, the majority of which is derived from American broadcasters. Tensions may have contributed to New York and Chicago losing bids to host future Games.

But Probst and USOC Chief Executive Scott Blackmun helped forge a new revenue deal last year and have vowed that the U.S. will play a greater role in the Olympic movement. There is still no American on the IOC’s influential executive board, but Probst and Blackmun were recently named to IOC commissions.

Eight others were nominated for membership by the IOC on Tuesday, including Alexander Zhukov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee; former Olympic high jump champion Stefan Holm of Sweden; and Kenyan distance runner Paul Tergat.

All are expected to be approved by the full general assembly in Buenos Aires in September.

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