Lord Coe is the highest-profile contender. A two-time Olympic 1500m champion, the 68-year-old oversaw the London 2012 Games before taking charge of World Athletics, and is bidding to become the first British IOC president.
Coe told BBC Sport that he was “in good shape” on Wednesday, later insisting that “there is momentum”.
“I have enjoyed the campaign and the discussions that I have had,” he added. “I have listened a lot and I’ve heard about what members are concerned about and what they would like to change.
“And I believe my manifesto strikes the right balance between building on the last 12 years and change with purpose and care. It’s an election and I’m enjoying the energy.”
The only other former Olympian among the candidates is another double gold medallist, former swimmer Kirsty Coventry. If successful, Zimbabwe’s 41-year-old sports minister would make history by becoming the first woman, the first African and the youngest person to hold the role.
The third of three front-runners is 65-year-old Spanish businessman Juan Antonio Samaranch. the IOC’s vice-president. He is a member of the IOC’s executive board, like Coventry, and is trying to follow in the footsteps of his father, who served as president from 1980 to 2001.
Sweden-born businessman and ski federation president Johan Eliasch, Japan’s Morinari Watanabe – head of the international gymnastics federation, French cycling chief David Lappartient and Jordanian Prince Feisal al-Hussein are the other contenders.
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