Lausanne, Switzerland, November 30, 2023: The list of 32 athletes - 18 female and 14 male - who will seek election to the IOC Athletes’ Commission next year at the Paris Olympic Games has been approved by the IOC Executive Board. Four positions are up for election.
The candidates, who have been nominated by their respective National Olympic Committees together with their Athletes’ Commissions, come from 15 sports and 32 NOCs.
They include eight athletes from Asia:
Soraya Aghaei Haji Agha (Iran, female, badminton)
Yazan Al Bawwab (Palestine, male, aquatics - swimming)
Husein A. Alireza (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, male, rowing)
Aliya Boshnak (Jordan, female, athletics)
Chuang Chih-yuan (Chinese Taipei, male, table tennis)
Niluka Karunaratne (Sri Lanka, male, badminton)
Park Inbee (Korea, female, golf)
Silina Pha Aphay (Laos, female, athletics)
“It is very encouraging to see the strong interest from our peers who are putting themselves forward to be part of the IOC Athletes’ Commission,” said IOC AC Chair Emma Terho.
“Such diverse representation from sports and NOCs means that athletes globally want their voice to be heard and recognise that the IOC AC is a place where they can actively represent and support their peers to succeed in their sporting and non-sporting careers.
“I am sure that those elected will contribute well to the representation of athletes and to addressing their needs.”
The four outgoing elected members of the Commission, who were elected at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and whose term of office will expire at the end of Paris 2024, are:
Daniel Gyurta (swimming, Hungary)
Britta Heidemann (fencing, Germany)
Yelena Isinbaeva (athletics, Russia)
Ryu Seung-min (table tennis, Republic of Korea)
Three appointed members of the Commission will also finish their term in Paris:
Sarah Walker (BMX, New Zealand)
Nadin Dawani (taekwondo, Jordan)
Aya Medany (modern pentathlon, Egypt)
Four candidates from four different sports will be elected directly by their peers to the IOC Athletes’ Commission. All athletes competing at Paris 2024 are eligible to vote in the Athlete365 House in the Olympic Villages during the Olympic Games.
The IOC AC is composed of a maximum of 23 members (12 members directly elected by their peers and a maximum of 11 appointed), who serve a term of eight years.