26 June 2025 - Eleven athletes will stand for election to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission (AC) during the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The list of candidates, approved today by the IOC Executive Board, comprises eight men and three women from five different sports and 11 National Olympic Committees (NOCs). They will vie for the two available positions on the Commission.
Each nominee has been put forward by their NOCs, together with their NOC Athletes’ Commissions.
The candidates are:
- Oleksandr ABRAMENKO (Freestyle Skiing, Ukraine)
- Zhanbota ALDABERGENOVA (Freestyle Skiing, Kazakhstan)
- Dario COLOGNA (Cross-Country Skiing, Switzerland)
- Yohan GONCALVES GOUTT (Alpine Skiing, Timor-Leste)
- Cong HAN (Figure Skating, China)
- Ilkka HEROLA (Nordic combined, Finland)
- Ádám KÓNYA (Cross-Country Skiing, Hungary)
- Magnus NEDREGOTTEN (Curling, Norway)
- Johanna TALIHÄRM (Biathlon, Estonia)
- Marielle THOMPSON (Freestyle Skiing, Canada)
- Yunjong WON (Bobsleigh, Republic of Korea)
The list of candidates and their biographies can be found here.
“It is always inspiring to see athletes from around the world step forward to represent their peers,” said IOC AC Chair Emma Terho. “The IOC AC plays a vital role in ensuring that athlete perspectives are included at every level of Olympic decision-making; and I commend each nominee for their commitment to this responsibility.
“Having served on the Commission for the past seven years, I know how meaningful this role can be. There is also an important responsibility that comes with it when your peers put their trust in you to represent them. It’s about listening to athletes, representing their views and helping shape decisions that impact the future of sport. I’m really encouraged to see such a strong and diverse group of candidates stepping up, and I wish them all the best in the upcoming election.”
The election will be held during Milano Cortina 2026. It will start on 30 January, when the Olympic Villages officially open, and will run until 18 February. The results will be announced on 19 February, three days before the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony.
All athletes competing at Milano Cortina 2026 will be eligible to vote, with polling stations located at each of the six Olympic Villages to ensure that all athletes have the opportunity to cast their ballot.
The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes, from two different sports, will be elected to serve eight-year terms on the IOC AC and will be proposed for election as IOC Members to the IOC Session.
The elected athletes will replace Emma Terho and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, whose terms will come to an end during the Games. In addition, appointed members Hong Zhang and Abhinav Bindra will also conclude their eight-year term.
The election procedure, including the eligibility criteria, can be found here.
Following the election of the two new members, the Commission will elect a Chair and two Vice-Chairs. These leadership roles are held from one edition of the Games to the next. At Paris 2024, Emma Terho was re-elected as Chair, and Maja Włoszczowska (Cycling, Poland) and Abhinav Bindra (Shooting, India) were elected as Vice-Chairs. They were all unanimously elected and will hold their positions until Milano Cortina 2026.
After a meeting of the IOC Executive Board, IOC President Kirsty Coventry announces the list of 11 candidates for the IOC Athletes’ Commission election at Milano Cortina 2026. Two will be elected, to replace Emma Terho and Astrid Jacobsen, whose mandates will come to an end. pic.twitter.com/ST9Eb8vl4c
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) June 26, 2025
About the IOC Athletes’ Commission
The IOC AC was established in 1981 to serve as a link between athletes and the IOC. It ensures that the voices of athletes are represented at the highest level of decision-making within the Olympic Movement. The Commission comprises a mix of elected and appointed members, ensuring balanced representation across sports, regions and gender. The majority is always elected members.
IOC AC members are appointed to most of the other IOC commissions, so that the athletes’ voice is considered in all relevant meetings and conversations.
The Chair of the IOC AC is a full member of the IOC Executive Board, representing athletes at the highest decision-making level in the IOC. There are 15 IOC AC members in the IOC Session – the same as the number of representatives from both the NOCs and the IFs.
In recent years, the IOC AC has played a vital role in initiatives such as the Athlete365 platform, the Athletes’ Rights and Responsibilities Declaration, mental health support and career transitions programmes, and new opportunities for athletes developed with IOC commercial partners. The Commission also works closely with the global network of NOC and IF Athletes’ Commissions to foster athlete engagement worldwide.
The announcement of the election candidates follows the successful staging of the 12th International Athletes’ Forum, held in Lausanne, Switzerland, from 11 to 12 June. Hosted by the IOC AC, the Forum saw more than 400 athlete representatives from around the world gather to share insights, celebrate progress and strengthen the collective voice of athletes within the Olympic Movement.
