4 Olympians to run for IOC's athlete body
By Baek Byung-yeul
The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) said Friday that four Olympic medalists are registered as candidates for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes Commission.
According to the KOC, retired weightlifter Jang Mi-ran, 31; reigning pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh, 35; former table tennis player Ryu Seung-min, 32; and fencer Nam Hyun-hee, 33, have filed their applications.
The KOC, which started its nomination process by organizing a subcommittee on July 16, will draw up a shortlist for a spot on the commission by mid-August. The IOC will close its applications on Sept. 15 and hold an election during the 2016 Rio Olympics to select four new members.
Moon Dae-sung, the 2004 Athens Olympic taekwondo gold medalist, currently serves as an IOC Athletes Commission member. His eight-year term will end during next year’s Olympics. As “the link between athletes and the IOC,” the Athletes Commission members are involved in IOC’s policymaking such as the process for evaluating candidate cities seeking to host the Games.
Among four candidates, Jang, the 2008 Beijing Olympic weightlifting champ, is considered a leading candidate to become a member. Since her retirement in 2013, she has been working for her charity foundation and other Korean sporting interests, especially for retired athletes’ welfare. In a series of interviews with local media, she has not avoided her desire to serve as an IOC commission member. She also serves as a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Athletes’ Commission.
Another strong candidate will be triple Olympic champion sharpshooter Jin. He also holds membership with the International Shooting Sport Federation’s Athletes Committee.
If Korea fails to gain IOC commission membership during next year’s Summer Olympics, it remains to be seen whether retired figure skater Kim Yu-na will announce her bid for IOC membership during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
Kim, who won gold in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and silver in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, is not eligible to run for candidacy next summer as candidates who practice a summer sport can only contest an election during the Summer Games while winter sports athletes can only run for elections during the Winter Games. She reneged on her retirement plan in 2012 to compete at the 2014 Games because the IOC only allows active or retired athletes who took part in the previous Olympics to participate.