Athletes Commission

The Athletes Commission serves as a link between the athletes and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Athletes Commission was formed in 1981 as a solution to the complaint at the 1981 Olympic Congress that Olympic athletes had very little say in the workings of the IOC and the Olympic Movement. It was felt that the IOC had too few former Olympic athletes among its members and that those athletes were too far removed from their competitive days.

The first chair of the Athletes Commission from 1980-2000 was Peter Tallberg of Finland, an IOC Member and a former yachtsman who competed at five the Olympic Games. In 2000, the chair became Sergey Bubka of Ukraine, the renowned pole vaulter and later an IOC Member. He was succeeded in 2015 by former German fencer Claudia Bokel, with the current chair (2022) the five-time Finnish Olympic ice hockey player Emma Laaksonen-Terho.

The composition of the Athletes Commission is:

• Eight summer sports athletes elected during the Games of the Olympiad (four at each edition of the Games),
• Four winter sports athletes elected during the Olympic Winter Games (two at each edition of the Games), and
• Six athletes appointed by the IOC president to ensure a fair balance in terms of gender, sport, and region.

The 12 athletes elected during the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games serve an eight-year term and become IOC Members during their term on the Athletes Commission.

The mission of the IOC Athletes’ Commission is to ensure that the athletes’ viewpoint remains at the heart of Olympic Movement decisions. The Athletes Commission has been charged with the following responsibilities:

• Empower athlete representation in Olympic Movement decision-making processes;
• Support athlete development in their sporting and non-sporting careers;
• Promote athlete involvement in decision-making across the Olympic Movement; and
• Ensure athlete representation in Olympic Movement decision-making.

Some of the above was taken from the IOC official website. Please refer to the following link for further details, especially of current members of this commission.