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Erick Thohir named new member of International Olympic Committee
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International Olympic Committee (IOC) individual member Erick Thohir of Indonesia. (Indonesian Olympic Commitee (KOI)/Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI))
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ndonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) chief Erick Thohir has been elected as a new member of the International Olympic Committee, giving the country a leg up in its bid to host the 2032 summer Olympic Games.
Erick was officially announced as an individual member during the 134th IOC meeting, which took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, from Monday to Wednesday. In total, 10 new IOC members were announced.
Erick, 49, is a board member of world basketball body FIBA, president of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) and was the chief of the Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee in 2018. He is also the director of England’s Oxford United FC and was the president of Italy’s FC Internazionale Milano from 2013 to 2018 and former co-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers from 2010 to 2012.
“I feel honored to be named a member of the IOC. Besides my personal pride, it also means something to Indonesia, which has not had a representative [in the IOC] for the past 12 years.
“I hope [with me being here] Indonesia will gain more recognition within the IOC as well as in other international sports forums,” Erick said in a statement.
Erick is the fifth Indonesian to be named an IOC member, and the first since former KOI chief Rita Subowo, who was elected in 2007. The other Indonesians to have been named members were Dadang Suprayogi, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX and Mohammad “Bob” Hasan.
IOC members are representatives of the organization in their respective countries, where they promote Olympism and its values.
