Samaranch Jr. among electees to IOC executive board

The son of former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch was elected to the organization's executive board on Thursday.

Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., 52, was among seven executive board members and two vice presidents to be elected at the IOC session. His father was the chief of the organization from 1980-2001.

Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel and Great Britain's Craig Reedie were elected as vice-presidents. They have been executive board members since 2008 and '09, respectively.

Joining Samaranch as new members of the executive board are Ukrainian pole vaulting legend Sergey Bubka, Guatemela's Willi Kaltschmitt, Taiwan's Ching Kuo Wu, Olympic Council of Ireland president Patrick Hickey, and German Claudia Bokel, a 2004 silver medalist in epee fencing.

Switzerland's Rene Fasel was re-elected to the executive board.

The United States' Anita DeFrantz had been up for an executive board position, but U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said Thursday that she decided not to run.