Four Olympians Become IOC Members
Today, the number of IOC members increased to 104 with the election and swearing in of the four athletes elected by their peers to the IOC Athletes’ Commission during London 2012: Danka Bartekova from Slovakia (shooting), James Tomkins from Australia (rowing), Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe (aquatics) and Tony Estanguet from France (canoe-kayak).
Danka Bartekova said: “Since I am still an active athlete and also an international relations student, I really wanted to work for the IOC and represent the athletes within the Olympic Movement. I am very honoured to have a chance to represent them and bring my experiences from my sports career into the work of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. I am looking forward to being a part of the IOC and sharing the Olympic values with athletes all over the world.”
James Tomkins said: “I am very proud and honoured to become a member of the IOC. Especially as I am coming from Australia which has a fantastic sporting heritage and culture, and has competed in every modern Summer Olympic Games. Personally having been involved in six Olympics and seen the improvements made over all those Games, I want to ensure that those improvements continue for all athletes.”
Kirsty Coventry said: “The IOC is one big family sharing and spreading the values of the Olympic Movement, and I am honoured to be joining this successful team. The voice and needs of the athletes are the heart of this organisation, and are what keeps us alive. I am thankful to the Olympians of 2012 for electing me to represent all athletes within the IOC, and I look forward to working hard to ensure their voices are always heard.”
Tony Estanguet said: “It is incredible to join the IOC on its Athletes’ Commission. I have dedicated 20 years of my life to my sporting dream. I have had an unforgettable career and I feel enormous gratitude and immense respect for the Olympic family. I will devote all my energy and the experience acquired over four Olympiads to listening to the athletes and facilitating communication with the IOC to strengthen the Olympic magic.”
The new members will join their counterparts at the Session on Thursday for the presentations of the three Candidate Cities for the third Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018 – Buenos Aires (Argentina), Glasgow (Great Britain) and Medellin (Colombia)** – and the election of the 2018 YOG host city. The vote will be followed by presentations from the six candidates – Richard Carrión, Ser Miang Ng, Thomas Bach, Ching-kuo Wu, Denis Oswald, and Sergey Bubka* – vying to become the next President of the IOC. That election will take place on 10 September, during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires.
* In the order of drawing of lots
** In alphabetical order