St Lucia's International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Richard Peterkin will throw his hat in the ring and contest for the position of president of the Pan-American Sports Organization in 2016, he will make increasing athlete participation and increasing the number of young administrators part of his platform.
Speaking on Saturday at the Central America and Caribbean Sport Organisation( CASCO) general assembly in Cayman Island Peterkin made know his intention.
In a recent Around the Rings interview Peterkin said PASO is in a good position organizationally because of President Mario Vazquez Rana’s work.
“What makes it easy for anybody to replace Mario is he’s built such a great organization.”
He also noted that PASO is “being a little bit upstaged” by some of the other continental organizations, including the Olympic Council of Asia. OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah recently replaced Vazquez Rana as head of the Association of National Olympic Committees.
One thing that isn’t clear is if Vazquez Rana will run again. Rumors are that if the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto are successful, he would view his legacy as being intact and retire. Vazquez Rana has not responded to Peterkin’s notification of forming his exploratory committee, or requests from Around the Rings for comment.
Peterkin also said he hopes his campaign does not split the region either geographically, culturally or linguistically. But he notes the divisions exist and must be bridged. And he notes, despite being an English-speaking Caribbean: “Soy panamericano” – Spanish for “I am pan-American".
Peterkin also put the race in perspective. “If I run and I lose, I will have the opportunity to say things about the role that PASO should play." Peterkin said he would step down if he felt a more “capable” candidate were to run.
The PASO General Assembly meets in Jamaica in 2013.