World ski body president Eliasch gets nomination for re-election from unexpected country

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OBERHOFEN, Switzerland (AP) — The billionaire British-Swedish president of skiing’s governing body is standing for re-election as a candidate from the country of Georgia.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation on Wednesday published the list of five candidates for the June 11 election, which ended speculation about which member federation had nominated its incumbent leader Johan Eliasch.

The British snowsport federation nominated its chief executive Victoria Gosling for the FIS presidency and Swedish media reported this week its national federation would not back Eliasch, who has often been unpopular with European ski officials.

Sweden-born Eliasch, the owner of the Head sportswear brand that provides skis to many top racers including Lindsey Vonn, also is a citizen of his adopted home Britain.

He was nominated by the British federation before winning the FIS presidency in 2021, and was classed as a British candidate when he ran in the International Olympic Committee presidential election last year won by Kirsty Coventry. Eliasch has been an IOC member for two years.

FIS legal statutes require election candidates to “hold a valid passport with the nationality of their nominating member association”.

It was unclear until Wednesday where Eliasch would find his nomination and similarly unclear why he is now a candidate for Georgia.

The other candidates are Dexter Paine of the United States, Anna Harboe Falkenberg of Denmark and Alexander Ospelt of Liechtenstein.

FIS has said it will send a list of eligible candidates on May 20 to member federations, after a review by an international panel.

The election meeting in June is in Belgrade, Serbia.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports