In addition to Alistair, Alexandra Miskovska-Longova (Slovakia) was re-elected to the Commission and will continue as the secretary. Zoruna Arunovic (Serbia) and Ronald Rauhe (Germany) were also elected as representatives for summer sports, and Johanna Taliharm (Estonia) as the representative for winter sports.

The EOC AC represents athletes from across Europe, and the elections were the highlight of the Forum, organised in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity.

During the Forum, it was confirmed that all 50 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in Europe now have an athletes’ commission in place to represent and support the athletes in each respective NOC.

It was announced during the Forum that a dedicated member of EOC staff would provide support and assistance to the work of the EOC AC and also to all the NOC ACs in Europe, to further strengthen the representation across the continent.

The newly elected Chair of the EOC AC, Alistair Brownlee, promised to do everything possible to help European athletes and highlighted the exchange of best practices as one of the main lessons learned from the Forum in Rome.

Mr. Brownlee said: “It’s a great honour to become the EOC Athletes’ Commission Chair. I strongly believe that athletes are the most important stakeholders in sport, and being able to represent and stand for European athletes in the Olympic Movement is a great honour and responsibility. I want to do everything I can to promote the Olympic Movement in Europe.”

EOC President Spyros Capralos thanked former Chair Gerd Kanter for his contribution to the EOC AC over the past six years and expressed his enthusiasm for the future following the Forum and election of Mr. Brownlee.

President Capralos said: “Under the leadership of Gerd Kanter, the EOC Athletes’ Commission has made great progress over the past six years. He has been a fantastic leader, and it has been a pleasure to work alongside him. Congratulations to Alistair Brownlee for being elected as the new Chair and to the four Athletes’ Commission Members either elected or re-elected at the Forum.”