Gabriela Szabo, Sergei Bubka, Stefka Kostadinova and Noureddine Morceli among candidates for IOC membership
Fourteen track and field athletes including Algerian distance-running great Noureddine Morceli, Romania’s Golden League Jackpot winner Gabriela Szabo, six times World pole vault Champion Sergey Bubka and World Record holder Stefka Kostadinova are among the 44 athletes up for election to eight spots on the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC released on Monday 20 March the list of candidates for election to the Athletes' Commission during the Summer Games in Sydney in September. Under the reforms adopted by the IOC in December, the eight athletes elected to the commission automatically become full members of the IOC.
In addition, seven other athletes will serve on the IOC, bringing the total to 15.
The inclusion of active athletes on the IOC was one of the main reforms enacted in the wake of the vote-buying scandal centering on Salt Lake's winning bid for the 2002 Games. The move is intended to provide athletes a bigger say in the running of the Olympics and to give the IOC a more dynamic and youthful image.
Morceli is one of the greatest long-distance runners in history. He won the gold medal in the 1500 meters in Atlanta, was a three-time world champion in the 1500 and held world records in the 1500, Mile, 2000 and 3000.
Bulgaria’s high jumper Stefka Kostadinova won the 1996 Olympic Games and five editions of the World Indoor Championships. Her tremendous clearance at 2.09m at the 1987 World Championships in rome still stands as a World Record.
Romania’s Gabriela Szabo won both the 1500m and the 300m at the 1999 World Indoor Championships in Maebashi before regaining her 500m World outdoor title in Seville and claim a share of the One million dollar Golden league Jackpot and the 1999 overall Grand Prix standings.
Other prominent names among the 44 candidates include: Balazs Kiss of Hungary, the 1996 gold medallist in the hammer throw, Ximena Restrpo of Colombia, 1992 bronze medallist at 400m, Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic, the World record holder at javelin throw, Robert Korzeniowski of Poland, Olympic 50km walk Champion and Charmaine Crooks.
The IOC appointed 10 athletes' members in December - seven from summer sports and three from winter sports.
The summer athletes were: Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergei Bubka, Czech javelin thrower Jan Zelezny, former U.S. volleyball star Robert Ctvrtlik, former Canadian 400m runner Charmaine Crooks, Russian freestyle swimmer Alexander Popov, Algerian 1500m runner Hassiba Boulmerka and German rower Roland Baar. The winter athletes were: Norwegian speed-skating great Johann Olav Koss, Italian cross-country skier Manuel Di Centa and Kazak cross-country skier Vladimir Smirnov.
The terms for the seven summer athletes expire in Sydney, while the winter athletes stay on until the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Six of the seven summer athletes appointed in December are among the 44 candidates on the list for the election in Sydney. The only incumbent not on the list is Boulmerka.
In addition to the eight elected in Sydney, IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch will appoint four others summer athletes with the aim of ensuring a fair balance in terms of gender, sport and region.
The four athletes who obtain the most votes will serve a term of eight years. The next four elected will have four-year terms. The voting will take place in Sydney's athletes' village from September 16 to September 27. The results will be announced September 28, and the elected athletes will be installed as IOC members the following day.
Of the 44 candidates, 22 are from Europe, nine from Asia, six from the Americas, five from Africa and two from Oceania. To be eligible, candidates must have competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics or be taking part in the Sydney Games.
IOC athletes' commission chairman Peter Tallberg said it was unclear whether Crooks, the former Canadian 400-meter runner, would be eligible. While she was a member of the Canadian team in Atlanta, she did not actually compete, he said. Tallberg said he would discuss the matter this week with Samaranch.
Following is the list of 44 candidates for the IOC athletes' commission. The candidates were nominated by their national Olympic committees.
Sergei Bubka, Ukraine, track and field
Charmaine Crooks, Canada, track and field
Pascal Dangbo, Benin, track and field
Fakhr Al-Dien Gor, Jordan, track and field
Balazs Kiss, Hungary, track and field
Damayanthi Darsha Kobalavithanage, Sri Lanka, track and field
Robert Korzeniowski, Poland, track and field
Stefka Kostadinova, Bulgaria, track and field
Dieudonne Kwizera, Burundi, track and field
Armen Martirosyan, Armenia, track and field
Noureddine Morceli, Algeria, track and field
Ximena Restrepo Gaviria, Colombia, track and field
Gabriela Szabo, Romania, track and field
Jan Zelezny, Czech Republic, track and field
Konstantin Andriushin, Kyrgyzstan, swimming
Rania Amr Elwany, Egypt, swimming
Martina Moravcova, Slovakia, swimming
Susan O'Neill, Australia, swimming
Alexander Popov, Russia, swimming
Jani Sievinen, Finland, swimming
Gillian Akiko Thomson, Philippines, swimming
Ioannis Melissanidis, Greece, gymnastics
Roland Baar, Germany, rowing
Matthew Pinsent, Britain, rowing
Peter Blange, Netherlands, volleyball
Robert Ctvrtlik, United States, volleyball
Mireya Luis Hernandez, Cuba, volleyball
Andrew Owusu, Ghana, volleyball
Perica Bukic, Croatia, water polo
Manuel Estiarte, Spain, water polo
Yaping Deng, China, table tennis
Nicolas Lapenti, Ecuador, tennis
Shuzo Matsuoka, Japan, tennis
Yayuk Basuki Suharyadi, Indonesia, tennis
Nicolae Juravschi, Moldova, canoeing
Ivan Klementjevs, Latvia, canoeing
Andraz Vehovar, Slovenia, canoeing
Barbara Kendall, New Zealand, sailing
Michaela Ward, Denmark, sailing
Nino Salukvadze, Georgia, shooting
Tai-Hsing Tu, Taiwan, shooting
Eun-Kyung Lee, Korea, archery
Vlade Divac, Yugoslavia, basketball
Kenneth Erichsen, Guatemala, badminton
