SportAccord Election

IJF President Mr. Marius L. VIZER was elected as the new SportAccord President in St Petersburg on Friday

Mr. Marius L. VIZER won as he received 52 votes against 37 for Mr. Bernard LAPASSET, Chairman of the International Rugby Board (IRB).

SportAccord is the umbrella organisation for all Olympic and non-Olympic international sport federations as well as organisers of multi-sport games and sport-related international associatians. SportAccord has 91 full members and 16 associate members who all took part in the vote to elect a new President at the conclusion of the week-long convention in St Petersburg.

Mr. Marius L. VIZER earned widespread praise for the changes he has overseen in judo since being elected as IJF President in 2007. They include developing a thriving World Judo Tour, cementing the sport's place as an integral sport at the Olympics and initating rule changes to make the sport more appealing to a wider audience.

Before winning acclaim while leading the IJF, Mr. Marius L. VIZER was a judoka, educator, coach and then President of national and continental judo asociations.

After the result was announced Mr. Marius L. VIZER said: "It is a well-known fact that my life has been dedicated to Judo and sports in general and this shall remain unchanged: I am ready to put my time and energy to the service of development and progress of all sports.

"By combining Judo with SportAccord activities, I consider that we can bring more values in both organisations."

Mr. Marius L. VIZER - Press Release - 31 May 2013