ATHLETES ELECTED TO INTERNATIONAL WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION (IWF) EXECUTIVE BOARD
The newly elected IWF Athletes’ Commission met online yesterday (January 11) to appoint three members to the IWF Executive Board.
The three chosen representatives, who will remain in post until the next IWF electoral congress, are headed by Forrester Osei (Ghana), who is reappointed as Chair of the IWF Athletes’ Commission.
He will be joined by Deputy Chair Hidilyn Diaz (Philippines), Olympic Champion in Tokyo 2020, and Luisa Peters (Cook Islands).
The appointments set a new benchmark for athlete representation in international sport governance, with the three athlete representatives also serving as full voting members of the IWF Congress.
It follows the first-ever elections for the IWF Athletes’ Commission, which took place alongside the IWF World Championships in Bogota, Colombia last month.
Chair of the IWF Athletes’ Commission Forrester Osei said: “It’s a huge honour to be reappointed by my peers as Chair of the IWF Athletes’ Commission. I’m very excited to continue the work we’ve begun – for example, on the athlete scholarships project – with the benefit of even stronger representation on the IWF Executive Board alongside Hidilyn and Luisa. As athletes, we know we have a key role to play in shaping a positive future for our sport in the crucial months ahead.”
IWF President Mohammed Jalood said: “I am delighted to welcome Forrester, Hidilyn and Luisa to the IWF Executive Board. We look forward to working closely together as we seek to shape a new future for weightlifting, which places athletes at the centre of everything we do. As a Board, we have been clear that strengthening athlete representation in decision-making is a key stepping stone to greater accountability and progress in our sport.”
