Okagbare, Kemboi, picked for IAAF seats

In from Nifemi Daniel…

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Olympic and world champion Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya and Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare are among the 16 athletes nominated to run for the six seats in the IAAF Athletes Commission.

According to the IAAF Press Division, all athletes accredited for IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015, will have the right to vote in the elections, which will take place during the championships between August. 23 and August 29 in the official team hotels.

To be eligible for nomination, athletes must have participated in at least one of the past two editions of the IAAF World Championships or in the most recent Olympic Games or be a competitor at this year’s IAAF World Championships.

Kemboi, aged 33, struck gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase race. He also won gold at the 2012 London Games.

Kemboi also won gold at the 2009, 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Daegu and Moscow.

Okagbare, born in 1988, settled for bronze in long jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won silver at the 2013 World Championships.

She also won a bronze medal in the 200m final in Moscow. Okagbare. won gold medals in 100m and 200m respectively in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

The names of the six elected members of the commission will be announced before the end of the championships and they will begin their mandate on Jan.1, 2016.

“Athletes are a vital pillar in sports and should remain at the heart of the decision-making process in all sport governing bodies,’’ said Namibian Frankie Fredericks, chairman of the IAAF Athletes’ Commission.

“I have seen how the Athletes’ Commission has not only acted as a voice for athletes, but helped to provide improved opportunities to athletes.

“It is our sincere hope that the new team builds on the foundation that has been set by the current and past members.

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“I wish all the 16 candidates all the best with the election process.’’

The nominees, in alphabetical order, are: Valerie Adams (Nzl), Mehdi Baala (Fra), Mutaz Barshim (Qat), Nataliia Dobrynska (Ukr), Michael Frater (Jam), Jacques Frisch (Lux), Yelena Isinbaeva (Rus), Vanda Juhasz (Hun), Ezekiel Kemboi (Ken), Fabiana Murer (Bra) and Koji Murofushi (Jpn).

Others are Blessing Okagbare (Ngr), Christian Olsson (Swe), Aliann Pompey (Guy), Alina Talay (Belar), and Andreas Thorkildsen (Nor).

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