BERLIN - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will resign as member of the Olympic body after handing over to his presidential successor in June, the IOC said on Wednesday.

Bach, an Olympic fencing champion in 1976, steps down from his post this year after 12 years in charge. He will hand over on June 23 to the new president to be elected on March 20.

"The IOC Executive Board today agreed to accept the resignation of IOC President Thomas Bach as an IOC Member, effective after 23 June 2025," it said in a statement.

Bach, 71, could have stayed on as a member until the age of 80, having joined the IOC in 1991.

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There are seven candidates to succeed Bach at the March 20 vote at the IOC session in Greece.

They are World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multiple Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry, who is Zimbabwe's sports minister, as well as Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president.

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International cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, International Gymnastics Federation head Morinari Watanabe and Olympic newcomer and multimillionaire Johan Eliasch, who heads the International Ski Federation, complete the candidates' lineup.