FILE PHOTO: David Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union (UCI) attends a news conference on Afghan refugees at the World Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland, June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
(Reuters) - David Lappartient, head of cycling's governing UCI, has been elected president of the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) until 2025, the body said on Thursday.
Lappartient beat fellow candidate Emmanuelle Bonnet Oulaldj in a secret ballot by members of the board of directors, winning 36 of the 45 votes in total, which included one abstention.
The 50-year-old Lappartient takes over from Brigitte Henriques, who resigned last month, a little over a year before the Paris 2024 Summer Games. His mandate lasts until the end of his predecessor's original term.
"My commitment to the French sports movement is undeniable. I'm thinking of the athletes, the federations and territories, the members and volunteers who are committed to the development of sport on a daily basis," Lappartient said in a statement.
"I would like to pay tribute to Brigitte Henriques for her dedication and the work she has carried out alongside the CNOSF's elected representatives and teams.
"I am fully mobilised on the major challenges ahead, foremost among them: the success of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, support for our French athletes ... and the legacy of the Games."
The CNOSF is not related to the Paris 2024 organising committee. The Paris 2024 Olympics will be held from July 26-Aug. 11.
Lappartient will be tasked with navigating the body through the turmoil of the past few months after Henriques had asked the International Olympic Committee to launch an internal audit of the CNOSF amid a long-standing row with former general secretary Didier Seminet.
The CNOSF said a General Assembly will be convened on Sept. 13 to ratify the election.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
