Earlier this week, insidethegames reported that the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) created an Athletes Commission that would be made up of male and female athletes from all five continental federations. Weightlifter Jurgen Spiess of Germany deemed the Athletes Commission, of which he is a member, as a “political restart” for the IWF following the McLaren report’s findings of extensive financial corruption by former IWF President Tamas Ajan.
The commission will allow for athletes to have a voice in the IWF’s governance and will be chaired by Sarah Davies of Great Britain. She will be accompanied by some of the most decorated athletes in the sport. Here is the full list of members of the IWF Athletes Commission:
- Sarah Davies — Chair — 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medalist — Great Britain
- Lu Xiaojun — 2012 Rio Olympic gold medalist — China
- Hiromi Miyake — 2-time Olympic medalist — Japan
- Jurgen Spiess — 2009 European Championships gold medalist — Germany
- Dora Tchakounté — 2014 European Junior Championships bronze medalist — France
- Forrester Osei — 2019 All African Games gold medalist — Ghana
- Mona Pretorius — 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist — South Africa
- Fernando Reis — 3-time Pan American Games gold medalist — Brazil
- Marina Rodriguez — 2015 Pan American Games silver medalist — Cuba
- Damon Kelly — 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist — Australia
- Megan Signal — 2019 Pacific Games bronze medalist — New Zealand
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[Related: 4 members of CrossFits Athlete Advisory Council announced]
It’s about time we had a way for those athletes to voice their views and opinions.
The Athletes Commission is technically in an interim stage as a “formalized election procedure” has not yet taken place but will at a time to be determined.
In IWF’s press release regarding the formation of the Athlete’s Commission, Interim IWF President Ursula Papandrea expressed the assembly of the Athletes Commission as needed following the McLaren report:
“We are delighted to announce the composition of our Athletes’ Commission and to get to work in ensuring greater athlete representation in our sport’s governance. We have accelerated the process for appointing the Commission members because we feel strongly that the athlete voice must be heard in our ongoing reform and governance changes.”
The selection of the commission members only “consider[ed] candidates from Member Federations who do not have representation on the Executive Board. In doing so, the IWF has been able to diversify its membership.”
Feature image from Sarah Davies Instagram page: @sarahd_gb
