ITTF president Thomas Weikert enters race for German Olympic Sports Confederation presidency

The outgoing president of the International Table Tennis Federation, Thomas Weikert, has been touted as a strong candidate for the presidency of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB).

Weikert, 59, is not running for re-election as ITTF president in November after a bitter governance dispute which pitted him against his own executive committee over his actions as president.

Instead, it appears Weikert has his eyes set on the top job at the DOSB, an organization with its own ongoing governance crisis. German media are reporting Weikert has received the endorsement of 14 of Germany’s biggest national sports federations to stand as a candidate for the DOSB presidency.

The incumbent DOSB president Alfons Hörmann announced in June he will be stepping down early. Hörmann was accused of creating a “culture of fear” at the DOSB in an open letter from some of the organization’s employees.

The DOSB ethics commission formed to investigate the matter suggested that election for the position should be held in December this year, but Hörmann and his supporters originally tried to side step this measure by calling for a vote of no confidence that would happen after the Paralympic Games in September.

This action backfired, with the sentiments around the German sporting community making it very clear that there was a lack of confidence in Hörmann’s leadership.

The DOSB has set up a search committee but has yet to announce an official slate of candidates for the presidency of the organization. The election is scheduled for December 4, 2021.