New Members for IOC

(ATR) Three new members join the IOC at the Durban Session which ended today.

Elected with overwhelming majorities were Jose Perurena, president of the International Canoe Federation, Gerardo Werthein president of the Argentina Olympic Committee and Barbara Kendall of New Zealand.

"To become an IOC member is the maximum for my career in sport," Perurena tells Around the Rings.

"And this the first time that the canoe federation is represented by an IOC member. It will be good for canoe," he says. Perurena holds his IOC seat by virtue of his ICF presidency.

For Barbara Kendall, who competed in sailing, this will be her second stint as an IOC member after she was selected in 2004 to fill the four years remaining in the term of Australian swimmer Susie O’Neil who resigned.

"Because I don’t have kids and I’m not competing I am not tired all the time. It will be a huge difference," she says about this new term as a member. Kendall, 44, gave birth to a daughter soon after she joined the IOC the first time. She’s now the second IOC member in New Zealand, joining Barry Maister who was elected last year.

Gerardo Werthein takes a seat on the IOC after an absence of a member from Argentina for several years.

"Argentina is one of the 13 countries that founded the IOC," notes Werthein. While he’s NOC president, Werthein was elected as a regular member, not as an NOC chief. That means he can serve untilage 70, regardless of whether he remains NOC president. He turns 56 later this year.

Werthein will be closely involved in the preparation for the 2013 IOC Session in Buenos Aires.

"We have a very good team, very professional, and it’s being done very well. It’s a very important session. We’re going to elect a new president, select new sports, and the 2020 Summer Games, so it’s going to be very big," says Werthein.

With the election of these three new members,the IOC roster stands at 113, a figure that will drop to 107 at the end of the year when six members leave officially, reaching retirement.

Re-elected by the IOC for an eight-year term is Phil Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee. IOC members must be reconfirmed by the Session every eight years. His seat was the only one due for a vote at the Durban meeting.

Lindberg to Executive Board

Gunilla Lindberg returns to the IOC Executive Board after a two-year break. She served two four-year terms previously. She’s secretary general of the Swedish Olympic Committee and the Association of National Olympic Committees. This year she chaired the Evaluation Commission for the 2018 Winter bids and could be in line to chair the Coordination Commission for PyeongChang 2018.

Lindberg will be the second woman on the EB; Nawal El Moutawakel is the other.

Written and reported in Durban by Ed Hula

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