IAAF Council member Svein Arne Hansen, President of European Athletics, told insidethegames that he had spoken to the former Slovenian Olympic high jumper today and asked him to address the 200-plus Congress delegates who must vote yes or no to a package of measures that could transform the sport within the next couple of years.

"Rozle spoke to the Council this week and he was inspiring," Hansen said.

"I have asked him to talk to the Congress members in the same way because these reforms are absolutely crucial.

"They should listen to him because he is speaking for the young athletes and for the future of the sport.

"Our sport is much bigger than the individual, and I hope we can remember that."

On Monday (November 28), the 37-year-old, who took over the Athletes' Commission chair from double Olympic sprint silver medallist Frankie Fredericks in February, offered "absolute" support for the reforms on behalf of the Commission.

"In our minds, the future of our sport depends upon athletics restructuring and moving forward as one of the leading global sports, with a governing body that is accountable, transparent, robust, flexible and representative of our sport," Prezelj said in a statement.

Speaking of the forthcoming vote, the IAAF President Sebastian Coe told insidethegames today: "It’s now or never".

Hansen acknowledged that the parts of the constitutional change intended to make the IAAF Council a 50-50 split between men and women by 2027 had encountered some resistance from certain sections of the Congress membership.

"When I was President of the Norwegian Athletics Federation we had a rule of 40 per cent for one gender – we didn’t specify which," he said.

"So for instance there were six women on our board, and four men."

Speaking to BBC World TV, he said: "There may be some obstacle with some delegates thinking ‘this could hinder me’…

"Not everywhere is the same as Norway or Great Britain - but we have to get this constitution through and I’m sure we will."