USOC head Larry Probst becomes 4th US IOC member

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The head of the U.S. Olympic Committee has been elected to the IOC, a big boost for American efforts to regain influence on the international Olympic stage.

USOC president Larry Probst made it onto the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday with 71 votes in favour and 20 against.

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Probst, chairman of video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc., becomes the fourth U.S. member on the IOC, joining Anita DeFrantz, Jim Easton and Angela Ruggiero.

The president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, also won a place on the IOC but with more negative votes in the secret balloting than Probst. The count was 63-29, with two abstentions.

The voting took place before the IOC election of a new president to succeed Jacques Rogge.