Hope, experience, integrity and engaging with the youth of today were some of the messages the seven candidates bidding to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee delivered to their fellow members on Thursday.

They are vying to convince a majority of the 100-plus members to elect them to succeed Thomas Bach as arguably the most powerful person in global sports, in a vote slated for March 20 in Costa Navarino, Greece.

The candidates all have impressive resumes; two of them, Briton Sebastian Coe and Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, are Olympic gold medalists and have been successful administrators since they retired from competition.