Pat McQuaid nominated for IOC membership

Ireland's Pat McQuaid, the International Cycling Union (UCI) president, is one of six candidates the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive committee has nominated today for election to the IOC. The election, considered a formality, will take place at the 122nd IOC Session, which will be held in conjunction with the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada in February 2010.

In addition to McQuaid, five others were nominated including Prince Feisal bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, president of the Jordanian Olympic Committee and younger brother of King Abdullah II; Spain's Maria de la Soledad Casado Estupiñan, president of the International Triathlon Union; New Zealand's Barry John Maister, secretary general of the New Zealand Olympic Committee; Ethiopia's Dagmawit Girmay Berhane, general secretary of the Ethiopian Olympic Committee; and China's Yang Yang, a two-time Olympic female short track speedskating gold medalist.

The IOC currently has 112 members, and there is a maximum of 115 allowed. The terms of office of four members - Walther Tröger of Germany, Tamás Aján of Hungary, Zhenliang He of China and Fernando F. Lima Bello of Portugal - will expire at the end of the year. The six new members will bring the total to 114, including 20 women.

McQuaid was elected to a second four-year term as UCI president in September. The Irishman was first elected UCI president in 2006 with the backing of the then out-going president, the Netherlands' Hein Verbruggen. The Dutchman currently serves as an honorary member of the IOC.

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