(ATR) Tokyo 2020 sports director and hammer throw gold medalist Koji Murofushi and pole vault champ Yelena Isinbayeva are two of 24 candidates who will vie for four seats on the IOC Athletes Commission.
The election takes place in the Rio Olympic Village next August during the Games. All 10,500 athletes are eligible to vote.
The IOC Executive Board on Wednesday named the candidates, who are drawn from 14 different sports – with an equal number of men and women. The two dozen candidatures approved is a record number for commission elections.
With Claudia Bokel stepping down as chair next summer, her position will be keenly contested in the 2016 Olympic city. Dae Sung Moon, Alexander Popov and Yumilka Ruiz Luaces also vacate their seats on the commission after finishing their terms of office.
With all athletes participating at Rio 2016 eligible to vote, the countries sending the largest delegations to the Olympics are likely to have a major influence on the voting results.
Brazil’s group of 500+ athletes will doubtless provide considerable home advantage for the host nation sailing star Robert Scheidt.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist in pole vault Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia is expected to secure plenty of support for her campaign, with Germany’s large athlete delegation getting behind Olympic champion fencer Britta Heidemann.
Of the other contenders, Japan’s Koji Murofishi may have a good chance of landing one of the four seats. This is his third attempt to secure a place on the commission. He came close in 2012 but was disqualified when the Japanese Olympic Committee breached campaign regulations.
His previous experience as a candidate, coupled with a role on the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee could serve him well this time around. And he would be an invaluable addition to the IOC membership in the build-up to and during the Tokyo Olympics.
"My most important job as sports director is for a successful Tokyo, that’s all I can say," he told Around the Rings recently. "I need to pay attention first to my job."
The four elected athletes will become IOC members for an eight-year term of office.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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