Tokyo Olympians have elected four new members for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) athletes’ commission for the upcoming seven years leading up to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, 2028. Alistair Brownlee was one of the athletes in the running, but he missed his spot by two places, ending his campaigning period with a sixth place thanks to 1522 votes. Most votes went to Spain’s basketball player Pau Gasol, who won the elections with 1888 votes. The three other athletes that will join him in the IOC athletes’ commission are Maja Włoszczowska (Poland, cycling), Federica Pellegrini (Italy, aquatics) and Yuki Ota (Japan, fencing).
“The newly elected members join the Commission to represent the athlete voice within the Olympic Movement”, IOC stated in a press release. In total, 6825 athletes cast a vote for the IOC athletes’ commission, that’s a participation rate of 61 per cent, the highest since the elections were first introduced at the Olympics in Atlanta 1996.
“It is fantastic to see the high turnout of athletes participating in the Athletes’ Commission election”, said Kirsty Coventry, IOC athletes’ commission chair. “We had an impressive list of candidates, and I want to thank all of the candidates for putting up their hands to represent athletes from around the world. The work and responsibility of the Commission is as important as ever to represent and support athletes in all stages of their lives. With these new members and those already on the Commission, I know that the IOC Athletes’ Commission is in very good hands to build on the great work done over the years. Remember, you now represent all athletes from around the world, so do your best to better understand all viewpoints, listen, act and support them to the best of your ability.”
Brownlee has worked hard to reach as many Olympians as possible, while still playing by the rules, he said in an interview with Insidethegames. “You’ve got to be respectful in approaching people and stuff because all these people are competing, and you don’t want to put them at risk. In the village itself, I’ve been talking to as many people as I can. […] I have had some amazing conversations with all kinds of athletes from around the world.”
A part of the election results:
