LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) ― Thomas Bach strides through the hotel lobby between meetings with a phone pressed to his ear. Over in one corner of the foyer sits Richard Carrion, deep in discussion with a fellow member. A few tables away, Ng Ser Miang chats with a colleague over a cup of tea.

All in the same room, three leading contenders all quietly engaged in the so-far unofficial campaign for perhaps the most powerful job in world sports: president of the International Olympic Committee.

Just don’t say out loud that that the race is on.

With the election nine months away, the campaign to succeed Jacques Rogge is forging ahead behind the scenes without fanfare, policy platforms, debates ― or any declared candidates for that matter.

Rogge, the Belgian surgeon who has led the Olympic body since 2001, steps down at the end of his term in September 2013. Although no one yet speaks openly about replacing him, the list of potential contenders is an open secret in IOC circles.

Some members are still sounding out their chances, while a few others look certain to run.

The deadline for declaration of candidacies is not until June, three months before the vote in Buenos Aires on Sept. 10. Candidates are likely to wait until closer to the date before announcing their intentions, thereby avoiding the impression of being too hasty or undercutting the outgoing president.

“It’s little by little coming out in the open,” Gerhard Heiberg, a senior IOC member from Norway who is not in the running, told the Associated Press. “It’s still too early, but people are preparing for what’s going to happen. I think that’s good. It’s an open field with many possible candidates and that’s what we want.”

Heading the prospective field are Bach, Carrion and Ng. All three were in Lausanne recently for IOC meetings, and they were hard to miss. While Bach and Ng are vice presidents who sit on the ruling executive board, Carrion is no longer a board member and must make an extra effort from outside the inner circle.

All three also made the trip to Israel for the 70th birthday celebrations of IOC member Alex Gilady earlier this month.