IOC Athletes Commission election results released

(BEIJING, August 21) -- Moon Dae-Sung, Claudia Bokel and Ruiz–Luaces Yumilka have been elected into the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee, replacing Sergey Bubka, Robert Ctvrtlik and Barbara Kendall. Alexander Popov, who was first elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission in 1999, was re-elected into the commission.

Twenty-nine athletes were candidates for membership in the IOC Athletes' Commission, including current and retired Olympic athletes. According to IOC regulations, the Athlete's Commission is composed of 19 members, seven of whom are designated by the IOC president, with the other 12 made up of eight summer sports athletes and four winter sports athletes.

Moon Dae-Sung, who received the most votes, is an Olympic Taekwondo athlete from the Republic of Korea. He won a gold medal in the +80kg event at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. He was followed by legendary swimmer Popov Alexander, with a total of 1,903 votes. Popov dominated sprint swimming throughout the 1990s and won five Olympic gold medals and four Olympic silver medals in his career.

Claudia Bokel, a German épée fencer, won the silver medal in the épée competition at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games with her teammates Britta Heidemann and Imke Duplitzer, while Cuban volleyball player Ruiz–Luaces Yumilka took part in three Olympic Games in a row since 1996 and twice won a gold medal with her team and claimed the bronze in 2004.

China's hurdler Liu Xiang came in eighth in the election with a total of 1,386 votes.

Created on October 27, 1981, the IOC Athletes' Commission is the link between active athletes and the IOC. The commission holds at least one meeting each year and meets regularly with the IOC Executive Board, to which it issues recommendations.

Out of 7,830 total ballots submitted by the athletes, 7,216 were eligible. The votes for the candidates that obtained the most votes are as follows:

Votes received	Name
3,220	Moon Dae-Sung (Republic of Korea)
1,903	Alexander Popov (Russia)
1,836	Claudia Bokel (Germany)
1,571	Ruiz–Luaces Yumilka (Cuba)