London (GBR), 29 July 2012 – Tsunekazu Takeda, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and FEI Honorary Vice President, was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 124th IOC Session held in London prior to the Olympic Games.
Takeda, who served as an FEI Bureau member from 1992 to 2002, competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Jumping events. Following his retirement from competition, he continued to pursue his passion for sport as a coach and administrator, leading the Japanese equestrian teams at the Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. He served as a sports director to the Organising Committee for the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games and was elected as President of the Japanese Olympic Committee in 2001. He was chef de mission for the Japanese delegations at the Salt Lake City 2002 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Tsunekazu Takeda is the 13th IOC member from Japan. Mr Takeda’s father, Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda, who competed in the Olympic equestrian events in Berlin 1936, was an IOC member from 1967 to 1981 and served on the organisation’s executive board for five years.