World Athletics president Coe to be elected IOC member in July

LAUSANNE - World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has been nominated to become a new International Olympic Committee (IOC) member in July, the IOC president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday.

Coe, the two-time Olympic 1,500 meters champion and the head of the athletics' world governing body since 2015, was repeatedly blocked from IOC membership over a conflict of interest surrounding his role as managing director of the CSM Sport and Entertainment company.

"In effect what has changed is that Coe has committed himself to change his status within the company he is currently running as managing director to a passive position," Bach said on a teleconference after a meeting of the IOC Executive Board (EB) on Wednesday, noting that the Brit is among five people who will be elected as new IOC members on July 17.

The other four proposed IOC memberships belong to individual members Maria de la Caridad Colon Ruenes of Cuba, former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Saudi Arabian Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, all female candidates, and Battushig Batbold of Mongolia.

Bach also announced on the teleconference that the EB agreed to submit to the IOC Session a four-year extension of the term of China's IOC member Yu Zaiqing, whose term is to terminate at the end of 2021, due to the important role that he plays in Chinese sport and society.