A Kenyan steeplechase gold medallist at the 2004 Olympics, Ezekiel Kemboi, has been appointed alongside five other athletes by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) into the Athletes’ Commission.
Others appointed for the period 2016 to 2019 are Fabiana Murer of Brazil, Paula Radcliffe of Britain, Alina Talay of Belarus, Ashton Eaton of United State of America and Michael Frater of Jamaica.
This is contained in a statement by the IAAF media department on Friday.
It said that “a new chairperson will be decided by the commission when the next meeting holds in January/February 2016.
“Frank Fredericks, the out-going chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission, will continue in an honorary capacity to assist the commission during the transition and in their general contact with the IAAF Council”.
It quoted Sebastian Coe, IAAF President as saying: “I welcome the new members who joined the Athletes’ Commission at a challenging time for our sport.
“Together our task is to respond to those challenges and rebuild trust in the integrity of competition supporting the aspirations and dreams of the athletes.
“I would like to express my great appreciation for the continued support and advice given by the commission and its chairperson Frank Fredericks.
IAAF Athletes’ Commission Chairperson Frank Fredericks said “our commission is composed of a mixture of current and recently retired international athletes from the six continental areas.
“The six new members will be a huge asset adding to the wide range of experience and knowledge already in the commission.
“We are working together with Sebastian Coe, united in our resolve to clean up athletics for the sake of the vast majority of clean athletes”.
It said that the commission was made up of 18 members, 12 of whom are elected by their peers and six appointed by the IAAF.
“Six members, including the chairperson, have been appointed by the IAAF in November 2011 and nominees shall be appointed on the commission again in November 2015.
“Six were elected during the Daegu 2011 IAAF World Championships, whose mandate shall end on 31 Dec. 2015,” it said.
