Lausanne, Switzerland, May 28, 2020: Olympic Council of Asia Culture Committee Chair Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul and China’s Olympic speed skating champion Zhang Hong have been appointed Chair of two IOC commissions, the IOC announced on Thursday.
Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, IOC Member from Thailand and OCA Executive Board member, will head the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission.
Zhang Hong, an IOC Member in China, will head the newly-formed IOC Coordination Commission for the 4th Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, Korea in 2024. The members of this new commission include Afghanistan’s IOC Member, Samira Asghari.
The composition of the commissions has once again shown a year-on-year progression towards gender equality, with 47.7 per cent of positions across the 30 commissions now held by women, an increase on the 45.4 per cent in 2019. The addition of the two new female commission leaders brings the total number of commissions chaired by women to 11 out of 30, some 36.7 per cent.
Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul became the first Thai woman to be elected as an IOC Member at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, in 2017. She currently holds the position of Deputy President of the Badminton World Federation and is Chair of the OCA Culture Committee. She has been a member of the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission since 2018 and brings a wealth of experience from both the sporting and cultural domains to her new role.
Zhang Hong won the first ever speed skating Olympic gold medal for China at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. In 2015, she became a Promotion Ambassador for Beijing's bid to host the Olympic Winter Games 2022. At the 132nd IOC Session in PyeongChang, Zhang was elected on to the IOC Athletes' Commission. She is also a member of the Athletes' Entourage Commission and was a member of the Evaluation Commission for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2026.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Advancing women in leadership roles in sport is truly a team effort, and I want to thank all those who have contributed to this for their continued support, commitment and inspiration. There is always more that can be done, and we can make progress only if we work on this together.”
President Bach continued: “By increasing female participation in IOC commissions and the number of female chairs on IOC commissions, the IOC is hearing the female voice more and more and ensuring that women and girls can be empowered by using the powerful platform that sport provides to promote gender equality.”
This year’s IOC commission week is scheduled from November 2-8.
Source: www.olympic.org
