Bobsleigh Olympic medalist Won Yun-jong ready to do legwork in bid for IOC membership

Former Korean bobsledder Won Yun-jong / Yonhap

As an Olympic bobsleigh medalist now vying for a seat on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission, Won Yun-jong believes that, if nothing else, he can outlast other candidates during their campaign.

"When it comes to stamina and conditioning, I am pretty confident," Won said Thursday after attending the Olympic delegation launch ceremony in Seoul. "I want to be the first candidate going into the athletes' village to meet the Olympians every day and be the last one leaving. I want to meet as many athletes in person as I can and listen to what they have to say."

Won will be one of 11 candidates in the running for the Athletes' Commission election, which will take place during the Feb. 6-22 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes, from two different sports, will replace outgoing Emma Terho and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen.

According to the IOC, the election will begin on Jan. 30, when the athletes' villages will officially open, and will run until Feb. 18. The results will be announced Feb. 19, three days before the closing ceremony.

Won, who piloted Korea to the silver medal in the men's four-man bobsleigh at the 2018 Winter Olympics, will try to become the third Korean to be elected to the Athletes' Commission — after the 2004 Olympic taekwondo champion Moon Dae-sung and the 2004 Olympic table tennis gold medalist Ryu Seung-min, who is currently president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

The Milan-Cortina Games will be the most widespread Olympic in history, with venues covering over 22,000 square kilometers of land. There will be multiple clusters for ice sports, snow events and sliding races. The opening ceremony and the closing ceremony will take place in different cities, too.

Won admitted it will be a challenge to go from one cluster to another, and to that end, he will pack three pairs of running shoes.

"I think even those three pairs may not be enough," Won said with a smile. "But I will be going all over the place to meet the Olympians, to the point where my shoes will be worn out."

Asked how he will appeal to the voters, Won said, "It will all come from the heart."

"I am trying to win a position that will allow me to represent fellow athletes, and I will have to approach them from the heart," he said. "I want to make them feel like I can be their best supporter."