“It is not an envious task to follow in the footsteps of one who has done such an outstanding job over so many years. It is even more difficult to try to step right up and suggest a series of improvements,†said Casado in her acceptance speech. “I view my prime challenge as accepting this legacy of unheard-of accomplishments that has been bestowed on me and then hopefully enhancing it even further.â€
Four Vice-Presidents were also elected including Australian Bill Walker, former ITU Secretary General, Antonio Alvarez of Mexico, Kyung-Sun Yu of South Korea, and Sarah Springman, President of the British Triathlon Federation. Tom Carrasco of The Philippines ran unopposed for Treasurer.
ITU’s founding President Les McDonald of Canada retires this year and accepted the position of Honourary President, however, only after consulting with ITU’s existing Honourary President Gunnar Ericsson of Sweden.
“Juan Antonio Samaranch appointed (Gunnar) to help me put triathlon into the Olympic Games and I made him the Honorary President and so I would not accept this as long as Gunnar Ericsson is there because he was the father I never had,†said McDonald.
Ericsson said he wanted to stand together with McDonald as Honorary Presidents for half a year, then Ericsson would step down on his 90th birthday. To that, McDonald responded, “I said okay. Some people in life you like to fight but you don’t fight people like Gunnar Ericsson because without him we would not be here.â€
Another resolution was passed to name Chiharu Igaya of Japan an Honorary ITU Member after stepping down as ITU Vice-President. Igaya, also an IOC Vice-President, is considered incredibly important to triathlon’s inclusion onto the Olympic programme.
The election for ITU’s Executive Board was so competitive, it required two additional rounds of voting. The new members of Executive Board are (in alphabetical order):
Ria Damgren Nilsson (SWE)
Anatoly Korobov (RUS)
Xin Li (CHN)
Melissa Merson (USA)
Shin Otsuka (JPN)
Mario Rodriguez (GUA)
Terry Sheldrake (NZL)
ITU’s new Executive Board will meet less than 24 hours after being elected on Sunday afternoon. Members of ITU’s six committees were also elected during the election. Technical Committee:
Jamie Cadaval (MEX)
Joyce Donaldson (USA)
Jasmine Flatters (GBR)
David Markham (CAN)
Jun Qi (CHN)
Enrique Quesada (ESP)
Kiriyo Suzuki (JPN)
Medical Committee:
Dr. Joao Paul De Almeida (POR)
Dr. Doug Hiller (USA)
Dr. Toshihito Katsumura (JPN)
Dr. Jon King (AUS)
Dr. Sergio Migliorini (ITA)
Dr. Lothar Schwarz (GER)
Constitution Committee:
Gale Bernhardt (USA)
Patrice Brunet (CAN)
Jin Ho Kim (KOR)
Patricia Petty (BER)
Bernard Saint-Jean (FRA)
ITU Congress
Congreso de la ITU
From L-R: Vice-President Kyung-Sun Yu, Vice-President Bill Walker, President Marisol Casado, Secretary General Loreen Barnett, Vice-President Sarah Springman, Vice-President Antonio Alvarez and Treasurer Tom Carrasco
De Izquierda a derecha: Vicepresidente Kyung-Sun Yu, Vicepresidente Bill Walker, Presidenta Marisol Casado, Secretaria General Loreen Barnett, Vicepresidenta Sarah Springman, Vicepresidente Antonio Alvarez y Tesorero Tom Carrasco
ITU President Marisol Casado gives a passionate acceptance speech
La Presidenta de la ITU Marisol Casado dio un apasionante discurso investidura
“No es una tarea sencilla seguir los pasos de alguien que ha hecho un excelente trabajo durante tantos años. Pero es aún más difÃcil intentar dar un paso a delante y sugerir una serie de mejoras,†dijo Casado en su discurso de investidura. Considero que mi principal reto al aceptar este legado que se me ha otorgado es seguir mejorando aún más los logros ya conseguidos.â€
El Presidente fundador de la ITU, el canadiense Les McDonald se retira este año y ha aceptado el puesto de Presidente Honorario, tras haber consultado con el Presidente Honorario existente, el sueco Gunnar Ericsson.
