OCI presidency a two-horse race

Next month’s Olympic Council of Ireland elections will see Pat Hickey go head-to-head with Richard Burrows for the position of president.

Hickey, president for the past 12 years, has been under a sustained period of pressure since last year’s Olympics but managed to secure nine nominations today.

Burrows on the other hand could only manage a solitary nomination. It came from the Irish Sailing Association, his own sporting body, and the fact that he failed to garner any backing from elsewhere might suggest that Hickey holds the upper hand going into the elections on February 15th.

However, with 17 of the 27 national sports federations choosing not to throw their weight behind either candidate the issue is by no means cut and dried.

A movement to oust Hickey from his position at the head of the OCI has been gathering momentum recently whilst he himself has insisted the criticism has been unwarranted.

The political infighting is now likely to escalate as both candidates begin campaigning in earnest.