Stoss successor

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Horst Nussbaumer

(Bild: GEPA)

Horst Nussbaumer is to succeed Karl Stoss as President of the Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC). As the ÖOC announced on Tuesday, the current head of the rowing federation appears on the valid election proposal for this position, which will be voted on at the Ordinary General Assembly on March 24. 

Roswitha Stadlober (ÖSV), Elisabeth Max-Theurer (OEPS) and Markus Prock (ÖRV) will serve as vice-presidents if the proposal is accepted by a simple majority as expected.

The 53-year-old Upper Austrian Nussbaumer has been head of the rowing association since 2013. As an active rower, he competed at the Olympics three times (1992, 1996, 2000) and also took bronze at the 1998 World Championships in the quadruple sculls. Nussbaumer, who succeeds Karl Stoss, works for Bankhaus Spängler.

Roswitha Stadlober

(Bild: Krone.tv)

Nussbaumer did not want to accept congratulations yet. "As an athlete, I'm not used to being congratulated before the finish line - in this case March 24 - is reached," the Upper Austrian told APA. For this reason, he did not want to comment specifically on his plans at the moment, but already emphasized: "For me, the athletes and coaches are the priority. They are the most important players. We have to make all decisions based on what is best for them. We are only there to remove obstacles from their path, to improve their training conditions, to simply create framework conditions so that they can achieve their goals."

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The decision to take on this job has been years in the making. "I've been to the Olympics three times as an athlete and three times as an official, I'm passionate about the Olympics. My various insights have made me realize that I want to take on even more responsibility," explained Nussbaumer. He will continue in his position as rowing president until the next election, probably in the fall.

As ÖOC boss, Nussbaumer could in principle hold office for a similar length of time as his predecessors Stoss (16 years), Leo Wallner (19) and Kurt Heller (17) - provided this is desired by the professional associations. "I can certainly imagine doing this for longer, but of course I have the utmost respect for the General Assembly," said Nussbaumer.