Double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee has just been appointed, along with Allyson Felix, Oluseyi Smith and Masomah Ali Zada, to the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to help represent the athlete voice within the Olympic Movement.
One of the new intake, cyclist Masomah Ali Zada who was born in Afghanistan, is the first refugee athlete on any IOC commission.
The four athletes were appointed by IOC President Thomas Bach, in consultation with IOC AC Chair Emma Terho, and in accordance with IOC AC regulations, which are aimed at ensuring a balance between genders, regions and sports within the commission. They can each serve a term of up to eight years. With these additions, the IOC AC will consist of 14 women and 9 men.
“It’s an honour to be appointed to the IOC Athletes’ Commission,” said Alistair Brownlee. “I am a product of the Olympic movement. Watching the first ever Olympic triathlon in Sydney inspired me to dream and work hard towards those dreams.
“It will be a privilege to represent the athletes of the Olympic movement and play a small part in helping to realise the dreams of more young people.”
World Triathlon President, Marisol Casado, an IOC member herself, as well as a member of six IOC commissions, said “We are absolutely delighted to have the voice of one of our most successful and charismatic athletes, Alistair Brownlee, joining the Athletes’ Commission.
“His voice, and the voice of all triathletes around the world, will be taken even more into consideration, and is again the proof that our sport has a strong presence in the Olympic movement.
“Our most sincere congratulations, from myself and on behalf of all the triathlon family, to Alistair for this excellent achievement. I’m sure his commitment with the movement will be extraordinary and will help us all to continue growing.”
“Athletes are at the very heart of the Olympic Movement, and it is therefore essential that their voices are heard within the IOC,” said IOC President Bach. “Those voices must be as diverse as possible.
“The appointment of these four new members of the Athletes’ Commission complements the outstanding skills and experience of the commission and ensures we have great representation across different sports and regions of the world. We look forward to working with each of them in the years ahead as they play a vital role in representing the interests of the global athlete community.”
