The German Heike Groesswang is the new president of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF). General Secretary of this organization since 2012, she was elected during the Congress held in Salzburg (Austria) in the first vote, receiving 27 of the 45 possible votes. Ander Mirambell was the second most voted option, receiving 10 supports. The other two candidates, the Jamaican Nelson Christian Stokes and the Latvian Martins Dambergs received 5 and 3, respectively.
“I have not come out because of sports politics. As a project it was the best, it was a time of change and the Federation is not prepared for change and modernization. They have preferred a continuous leadership following Groesswang’s 16 years in the Federation,” Mirambell tells MARCA from Salzburg.
You can have the best project but there are things that you do not control that can prevent you from winning
Ander Mirambell
“I am satisfied and proud of the work we have done these weeks. We have proposed a change of model, I have been lucky with my traveling companions, the support of LaLiga, of S2, of lThe Spanish Ice Sports Federation, the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Higher Sports Council. I have learned a lot, we have competed until the last second,” says Mirambell.
“I understand more what has happened in the history of sports in Spain such as the Madrid candidacy or the elections of Juan Antonio Samaranch. You can have the best project but there are things that you do not control that can prevent you from winning,” reflects Mirambell.
Heike Groesswang, new president of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton FederationFlorian Ziegler/IBSF
Groesswang, 54, becomes the sixth president of the IBSF and the first woman to hold the position. He takes the baton from the Italian Ivo Ferriani who, after 16 years, puts an end to his presidency. She joined the IBSF as executive director in 2010 and was appointed general secretary two years later.
It has been member of seven working groups and commissions of the International Olympic Committeeas well as the Diversity and Gender Equality Commission of the ASOIF (Association of International Summer Olympic Federations) and the Council of the WADA Foundation. She was the general secretary of the Winter Olympic Federations (WOF) from 2020 to 2023.
