PASO Leader Says Goodbye to Toronto

(ATR) Pan American Sports Organization chief Julio Maglione must leave Toronto before the Pan Am Games end.

Maglione is on his way to Russia, where he will oversee the final preparations for the 2015 FINA world championships in Kazan. The event opens July 24 and runs to August 9.

Before leaving Toronto, Maglione talked with Around the Rings about the world championships , the future of PASO and his experience in Toronto during the past week.

"If not the best, they are one of the best. These Pan American Games have been excellent. These games are very important because they leave a big legacy for the host country," Maglione says.

This latest edition of the Pan Ams has drawn more than 6,000 athletes and 4,000 officials to Toronto. Opening ceremony was July 10. The games close on July 26. The program includes 38 sports, with 16 sports offering Olympic qualification.

Maglione had no idea six months ago that he would have this responsibility in Toronto. But when long time PASO president Mario Vazquez Rana died in February, Maglione was the consensus choice to take over on an interim basis. Despite his obligations as FINA president and as an IOC member, Maglione agreed to take the job at PASO on a transition basis until new leadership is elected sometime next year.

He tells Around the Rings he should be done with his term as PASO president by Rio 2016.

He says this will allow him to focus on his position as FINA president, for which he had served two terms and could be elected to a third next week if the FINA Congress passes constitutional changes that would permit an extra term. He has won endorsements from Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas, so an extension of his presidency is considered likely.

He is looking forward to leading FINA for a third term, but he insists the idea of continuing as president was not his.

"My idea was to finish in Hungary at the next election. I agreed with the people who proposed to me the idea because they pushed me. Now they must approve the changes of the constitution [of FINA] and then I would have a chance," Maglione tells ATR.

As the first week of competition comes to a close in Kazan, Maglione will leave to attend the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from July 31 to August 3. Maglione then returns to Kazan for the conclusion of the FINA championships.

This travel schedule would be strenuous for anyone, let alone Maglione, who turns 80 this year. He says that he expects that his workload will diminish by the time of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Maglione tells ATR that by then the election for a new PASO president will be underway. Although he could have his term as an IOC member extended past the retirement age limit of 80 because of his FINA presidency, he wants to retire as planned this year.

While he can easily walk away from his IOC post, ending his duty as PASO president will not be so simple. When predecessor Vazquez Rana died in February, PASO leaders discovered the organization’s constitution was not clear on succession. Other aspects of the document were questioned, such as the provision that gives extra votes to countries which have hosted the Pan American Games. A wholesale review of the PASO constitution is now underway.

The PASO executive committee had a lengthy discussion Tuesday in Toronto about possible changes to the PASO constitution. Included in the discussion says Maglione was a three-term limit for the president. Vazquez Rana was in his ninth term when he died.

"We discussed all the morning about the constitution. It went for a good way. We will do many changes. We will put the constitution on the line to be approved by the IOC and we do all according to the Olympic charter and within the guidelines of ANOC," Maglione says.

The next step comes at the end of October when PASO will conduct a workshop to look at all possible changes.

After the workshop, PASO will draft a revised constitution to send to the IOC for approval by the end of 2015 or early 2016. Maglione stressed the importance of the PASO constitution being in line with the Olympic charter and Agenda 2020, reforms he says are the most important changes to the IOC he has experienced during his time as a

member.

"The IOC has a very clear guideline that modernizes the Olympic Movement to make it more and more popular. As President Thomas Bach said, the Olympic Movement is very important for one month but it should be all the year. They have the television channel and many things that are important for the future of the IOC," Maglione says.

The IOC review could take anywhere from one to three months,according to Maglione. If there are many changes made by the IOC,PASO will hold an extraordinary congress to approve the IOC revisions.

Once the constitution is approved by both PASO and the IOC, PASO will be able to hold elections for the next president. Maglione says the elections should take place before or very near the time of the Rio Summer Games.

Reported and written in Toronto by Kevin Nutley

​

​20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about theOlympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribersonly.​