Olympic bobsled silver medalist Won Yun-jong joins IOC Athletes' Commission

The 2018 Olympic bobsled silver medalist Won Yun-jong was elected to the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, becoming just the third Korean, and its first Winter Olympian, to join the body representing fellow athletes.

The IOC announced voting results for the Athletes' Commission on Thursday, and Won finished first among 11 candidates by earning 1,176 votes from 2,393 athletes who cast their ballots.

Estonian biathlete Johanna Taliharm finished second with 983 votes. The top two vote-getters will replace two outgoing members, Emma Terho and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen.

"I was so nervous right before the results were announced. I am so happy that the work I've put in to meet athletes and build networks paid off," Won said in a video message released by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC). "I want to thank my family for their support. I will now try to reach out to athletes first and work as hard for them as possible."

Athletes participating in this year's Olympics cast their votes from Jan. 30, when the athletes' villages across northern Italy opened, to 2 p.m. Wednesday. The results were announced three days before the closing ceremony.

According to the IOC, there were 2,871 eligible voters, and the turnout of 83.4 percent is the second highest for a Winter Olympics, just below the 83.8 percent mark at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Athletes' Commission members serve an eight-year term, but they otherwise have the same rights and responsibilities as other IOC members.

Won, who piloted Korea to the silver medal in the men's four-man bobsled in PyeongChang, is 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 KSOC.

Won is also joining Kim Jae-youl as one of the only two Korean IOC members at the moment. Kim was elected in October 2023 in his capacity as president of the International Skating Union.

Yonhap

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