Richard Burrows has been nominated by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) to challenge Pat Hickey for the presidency of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI).
Yesterday's nomination deadline for candidates of 5.0 p.m. confirmed speculation that the former international sailor and joint managing director of the global drinks company Pernod Ricard would be the principal opposition to Hickey, who has held the post since after the Seoul Games in 1988. The election will take place at an OCI general meeting on February 15th.
In an ISA press statement, Burrows said: "I am honoured to be nominated by my federation for the position of president of the Olympic Council of Ireland. I look forward to meeting the sports federations' representatives soon to discuss how the policy of the OCI should be shaped in the best interests of our future Olympic athletes, and the development of sport in Ireland."
This is not the first time Hickey has had to meet his opposition head on. In 1996, the high-profile president forcefully saw off a challenge and returned to office with an even stronger power base than when he started.
This time, Hickey has already engaged in an initial show of strength by listing nine federations who are prepared to nominate him for what would be his fourth term as president.
Along with Hickey, other OCI officers seeking re-election are vice-president Louis Kilcoyne from football, second vice-president Shay McDonald from gymnastics, treasurer Peadar Casey from rowing and secretary Dermot Sherlock from boxing.
The number of ordinary council members will also increase from five to seven, bringing the number of voting council members from 10 to 12. Hickey, also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and vice-president of the European Olympic Committees, was yesterday confident of gaining 25 or 26 votes which would give him a clear majority.
He told RTE television that his nominations were unsolicited and that he had a number of friendly federations with whom he would soon be in contact. Interestingly, he was not nominated by his own federation, judo.
"I believe that I will end up with 26 or 27 votes in the end, around the same as last time," he said. "I am very confident of gaining a significant majority when I get talking to the other federations." A spokesman for the OCI said: "We expect Richard Burrows to get no more than 12 votes in total."
Clearly both sides are putting their own spin on the story, with Hickey openly more confident of delivering the federations into his own camp. He has loyal supporters in Sherlock, Kilcoyne, McDonald and Casey, and probably the rest of the council. That is no surprise and is one of the reasons the opposition have declared that the election process is undemocratic. Claims that the executive always vote as a block and return themselves have been denied. That aside, a good poll by Burrows may turn on what he has to say between now and February.
Nominations for other positions
First Vice-President: Nick Davis (Athletics); Louis Kilcoyne (football).
Second Vice-President: Pat Donovan (Swimming); Shay McDonald (Gymnastics).
Honorary Treasurer: Peadar Casey (Rowing); Brendan O'Connell (Canoeing).
General Secretary: Finn Ahern (Basketball); Dermot Sherlock (Boxing).
Executive: Mary Baneham (Basketball); Bobby Begley (Athletics); Peadar Casey (Rowing); Nick Davis (Athletics); Pat Donovan (Swimming); Dermot Henihan (Rowing); Billy Kennedy (Cycling); Louis Kilcoyne (Football); Shay McDonald (Gymnastics); Joan McCloy (Hockey); Terry McHugh (Bobsleigh); Lt Col Gerry Mullins (Equestrian); William O'Brien (Archery); Breandan O Conaire (Boxing);Brendan O'Connell (Canoeing); Ciaran O'Donovan (Tennis); Joan O'Mahony (Swimming); Michael Power (Judo); Tom Rafter (Fencing).
