Kravchenko and Won elected Chair and second Vice-Chair of IPC Athletes' Council
Vladyslava Kravchenko was elected as Chairperson and Yoomin Won as second Vice-Chair of the IPC Athletes' Council 20 Nov 2024
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes' Council elected Vladyslava Kravchenko as Chairperson and Yoomin Won as second Vice-Chair during a meeting held at the organisation’s headquarters in Bonn, Germany, on 19 November 2024.
Kravchenko takes over the role of Chairperson from Jitske Visser, who served from November 2021 to November 2024. The new Chair will serve for a duration of four years until 2028 and will be an ex officio member of the IPC Governing Board with voting rights.
Won was also elected as second Vice-Chair during the same meeting.
The IPC Athletes’ Council (AC) is the collective voice of Paralympic and Para athletes within the IPC and the greater Paralympic Movement. The Athletes’ Council serves as an advisory body to the IPC Governing Board, carrying out tasks specifically delegated by the Board.
Newly elected Chairperson Kravchenko is a Paralympian and Para swimmer who represented Malta at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. She was re-elected as Member to the Council for a second term during elections held at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Second Vice-Chair and Paralympian Won is an accomplished athlete in wheelchair basketball, Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon. He competed at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games as well as the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
Winter Games Paralympian Josh Dueck of Canada continues his term as the first Vice-Chair. In this position he is also an ex officio member of the IPC Governing Board with voting rights.
Vladyslava Kravchenko said: "My primary objective is to be a strong representative for Para athletes from countries where Para sport is currently underdeveloped, including small states, developing nations, regions in conflict, and countries with recently established National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). NPCs in these regions often lack the necessary infrastructure, funding, and support systems to nurture and develop Paralympians.
"I look forward to serving the Paralympic Movement in my new role and supporting the IPC’s strategic objective of driving impact through Para sport globally."
Yoomin Won said: “I am very thankful for being elected as the second Vice-Chair of the Athletes' Council. It is a meaningful step for me to be part of the Paralympic Movement. I will do my best to assist Vladyslava and Josh with the Athletes' Council agenda and to learn from them as much as possible.”
IPC President Andrew Parsons congratulated Kravchenko and Won on their election as Chairperson and second Vice-Chairperson.
Parsons said: “I am confident that with you at the helm the Council will continue to progress the mandate of athletes in a meaningful way. The IPC Governing Board welcomes your input to ensure that we remain an athlete-centred organisation.”
The IPC Athletes’ Council is made up of nine athletes in total, which includes six summer athletes and three winter athletes.
The five summer sport members in addition to Kravchenko are: Martina Caironi (Italy, Para athletics), Lenine Cunha (Portugal, Para athletics), Denise Schindler (Germany, Para cycling), Yujiao Tan (China, Para powerlifting) and Yoomin Won (Korea, wheelchair basketball). The three winter sport council members are Josh Dueck (Canada, Para alpine skiing), Mitchell Gourley (Australia, Para alpine skiing) and Birgit Skarstein (Norway, Para Nordic skiing).
In addition to the nine elected members, the IPC Athletes’ Council can appoint up to five additional members on two-year terms, to ensure there is balance between gender, regions, sports and disability groups. Presently this includes Grigorios Polychronidis (Greece, boccia).
Elections will be held for the three winter sport athlete positions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in March 2026.
All Athletes’ Council members are active Paralympic athletes. This means he or she must have competed in the current edition of the Paralympic Games at which the election is taking place or have competed in either of the previous two editions of the Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016).
