British triathlete Mr Alistair Brownlee has been elected as the new Chair of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Athletes’ Commission (AC) at the 7th European Athletes’ Forum and Assembly in Rome, funded by Olympic Solidarity.
Ms Alexandra Miskovska -Longova (Slovakia) was re-elected to the Commission and will remain Secretary, while Ms Zorana Arunovic (Serbia) and Mr Ronald Rauhe (Germany) were also elected as summer sport representatives, and Ms Johanna Taliharm (Estonia) was elected as a winter sport representative. Both Mr Brownlee and the four newly elected Members of the Commission will serve for the next two-year term.
The EOC AC represents athletes from across Europe and the elections were the highlight of the Forum, organised in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, where representatives from European National Olympic Committees ACs focused on the key topics facing athletes.
This included detailed updates and presentations from outgoing EOC AC Chair Gerd Kanter and International Olympic Committee (IOC) AC Chair Emma Terho on the activities of their respected commissions.
During the Forum, it was confirmed that all 50 NOCs in Europe now have an athletes’ commission in place, to represent and support the athletes in each respective NOC. The athlete representatives were able to engage in constructive panel discussions and workshops as the attendees shared best practices and ideas for the work of ACs moving forward. The first was a panel on the role of the EOC and IOC Commissions with Mrs Terho, Mr Brownlee and EOC AC member Luiza Zlotkowska taking part.
This was followed by representatives from the Danish, Dutch, British and Portuguese NOCs giving examples of innovative programmes that their Athletes’ Commissions have run in their countries through the Olympic Solidarity NOC AC activity grant and answering questions from the Forum about how to ensure athletes are engaged with the decisions that affect them.
It was announced during the Forum that a dedicated member of EOC staff would provide support and assistance to the work of the EOC AC and also to all the NOC ACs in Europe, to further strength the representation across the continent.
On the second day, a panel and workshop focused on promoting athletes’ voices and brands at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 was held. Representatives from Paris 2024 and Athletes of the World, a company focused on helping athletes use their voice on issues that they care about, took part and the panel listened to the opinions of the Forum for how to engage with athletes before, during and after the Games.
Newly elected EOC AC Chair Mr Brownlee promised to do everything he can to help European athletes and highlighted the sharing of best practices as one of the key takeaways from the Forum in Rome.
Mr Brownlee said: “It’s a great honour to become the EOC Athletes’ Commission Chair. I strongly believe that athletes are the most important stakeholder in sport and being able to represent and stand for the European athletes of the Olympic Movement is a great honour and responsibility. I want to do everything I can to promote the Olympic Movement in Europe.
“The last two days have been great. It is fantastic to get athlete representatives together in the same place to share learnings, ways of working and to generate new ideas. There is always plenty to learn and plenty that all Athletes’ Commissions can do better. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a long established one or just starting your journey as an Athletes’ Commission, people have learned off each other and there have been some great ideas shared.”
EOC President Spyros Capralos thanked former Chair Gerd Kanter for his contribution to the EOC AC over the past six years and expressed his enthusiasm at the future following the Forum and election of Mr Brownlee.
President Capralos said: “Under the leadership of Gerd Kanter, the EOC Athletes’ Commission has made great progress over the past six years. He has been a fantastic leader, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside him.
“Congratulations to Alistair Brownlee for being elected as the new Chair and to the four Athletes’ Commission Members either elected or re-elected at the Forum. Having listened to the panel discussions and spoken to the new Members and athlete representatives from across our European NOCs, I am confident that the Athletes’ Commission will continue to represent the athlete voice in Europe and I look forward to working closely with the Members.”
