(ATR) IOC President Jacques Rogge appoints Nawal El Moutawakel to chair the coordination commission for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
El Moutawakel will lead a 17-member panel which will be responsible for monitoring the progress of Games preparations over the next six years. They will also assist Rio organizers in planning for the Olympics.
"Nawal El Moutawakel is ideally suited to lead our highly experienced and multifaceted team of experts," said Rogge.
"As an Olympic gold medallist and chair of the IOC Evaluation Committee for the last two Olympiads, she knows the Games inside and out, is well-acquainted with the Rio organizers and has the experience and leadership abilities to ensure that Rio is 100 per cent ready to host a fantastic Games in 2016," added Rogge.
The decision to name Morocco’s secretary of youth and sport to the post comes three months after the IOC awarded the Games to Rio.
The delay in naming the head of the Rio inspection team could be because Rogge has struggled to find a suitably qualified IOC member in the Americas or other candidates willing to endure long haul flights to Rio on a regular basis in the build-up to the 2016 Olympics.
El Moutawakel, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m hurdles, fitted the bill following the leadership qualities she displayed in her work as chair of the IOC’s 2016 Evaluation Commission.
Last year, the 47-year-old enhanced her reputation within the IOC on inspection visits to the 2016 bid cities of Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio in April and May.
An IOC member since 1998, El Moutawakel joined the IOC Executive Board in 2008.
Her new role may improve her chances of succeeding Rogge should she wish to stand for IOC president when he steps down in 2013.
El Moutawakel said she was honored to become the first woman to chair an IOC Coordination Commission.
"I am delighted to have been named as chair of the commission and am confident our team will help Rio deliver a memorable Summer Games in 2016," she said.
"Having chaired the Evaluation Committee for the 2016 Games, I have first-hand knowledge of the many strengths that Rio and Brazil have to offer, and together we will strive to showcase that to the world in six years’ time."
Rogge also announced the members of the Rio Coordination Commission on Wednesday.
It is made up of IOC members from five continents with wide-ranging Olympic Games experience gained either from work on former evaluation or coordination commissions or with previous Games organizing committees.
Members of the panel represent the many stakeholders of the Olympic Movement, including the athletes, the NOCs, and international sports federations.
The IOC Coordination Commission for Rio is as follows:
Chair
Nawal EL MOUTAWAKEL (MAR)
Executive Director for the Commission
Gilbert FELLI (SUI) IOC Olympic Games Executive Director
Members (in alphabetical order)
Beatrice ALLEN (GAM)
Sergey BUBKA (UKR)
Richard L. CARRIÓN (PUR)
John D. COATES, AC (AUS)
Timothy Tsun Ting FOK (HKG)
Alex GILADY (ISR)
Greg HARTUNG (AUS)
Patrick Joseph HICKEY (IRL)
Nicole HOEVERTSZ (ARU)
Nat INDRAPANA (THA)
Willi KALTSCHMITT LUJÁN (GUA)
Gunilla LINDBERG (SWE)
Julio César MAGLIONE (URU)
Alexander POPOV (RUS)
Francesco RICCI BITTI (ITA)
Ching-Kuo WU (TPE)
With reporting from Mark Bisson
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