One of the biggest names in Olympic racing has put her name forward to be part of the World Triathlon Athletes Committee – Swiss Olympic gold and silver medalist Nicola Spirig is on the list of candidates. Voting is now open and athletes can vote until Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021.
“The role of athletes in the decision-making process of World Triathlon has been a fundamental principle of our organisation since its creation in Avignon, France, 1989,” World Triathlon said in a release. “The inclusion of two members of the Athletes’ Committee on the World Triathlon Executive Board has strengthened the role of the athletes and is an integral part of our continued success as an International Federation striving to be ‘athlete centered.’”
The committee is made up of “five athletes of each gender” with “at least one member from each of the five continents.” Two members are Paratriathletes with one from each gender, with eight elite triathletes (four from each gender).
Here’s a list of the candidates:
Yannick Bourseaux, FRA, Europe, Male, Para Triathlete
Tamas Tóth, HUN, Europe, Male, Elite Triathlete
Rodrigo Gonzalez, MEX, Americas, Male, Elite Triathlete
Richard Varga, SVK, Europe, Male, Elite Triathlete
Non Stanford, GBR, Europe, Female, Elite Triathlete
Nicola Spirig, SUI, Europe, Female, Elite Triathlete
Mohamad AlSabbagh, SYR, Asia, Male, Elite Triathlete
Mehdi Essadiq, MAR, Africa, Male, Elite Triathlete
Mariya Shorets, RUS, Europe, Female, Elite Triathlete
Kenji Nener, JPN, Asia, Male, Elite Triathlete
Jonathan Goerlach, AUS, Oceania, Male, Para Triathlete
Gültigin Er, TUR, Europe, Male, Elite Triathlete
Gianluca Pozzatti, ITA, Europe, Male, Elite Triathlete
Claire Michel, BEL, Europe, Female, Elite Triathlete
Basmala Elsalamoney, EGY, Africa, Female, Elite Triathlete
Allysa Seely, USA, Americas, Female, Para Triathlete
Alberto Casillas Garcia, LTU, Europe, Male, Elite Triathlete
The current board includes:
Tamas Toth (Chair) | HUN |
Lisa Norden (Deputy Chair) | SWE |
Yannick Bourseaux | FRA |
Simon de Cuyper | BEL |
Tony Dodds | NZL |
Jonathan Goerlach | AUS |
Rachel Klamer | NED |
Claire Michel | BEL |
Sally Pilbeam | AUS |
Ai Ueda | JPN |
In addition to her impressive triathlon resume, Spirig is a lawyer – she completed her law studies in 2010. She recently took the win at Challenge Peguera-Mallorca.