A record 26 candidates announced for Paris 2024 IPC Athletes‘ Council elections
The election for the IPC Athletes' Council will take place from 26 August to 5 September during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games 11 Jun 2024
A record 26 candidates have been nominated for election during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to fill six summer representative roles on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes‘ Council.
The IPC Athletes’ Council is a group of elected athlete representatives who act as the voice of the Para athlete community to the IPC. The chairperson of the IPC Athletes’ Council and first vice-chairperson are also members of the IPC Governing Board as ex-officio voting members.
The election for the IPC Athletes' Council will take place from 26 August to 5 September during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in PLY House, close to the Main Dining Hall in the Paralympic Village, and the Athlete Lounge at Chateauroux Village for athletes in Shooting Para sport.
Of the 26 candidates, 14 are male, 12 female and 22 are actively competing athletes. Candidates span 12 sports and four continents. The candidates are:
Name | Nominating body | Nationality | Gender | Sport |
Saif Alnuaimi | NPC UAE | United Arab Emirates | M | Shooting Para Sport |
Najwa Awane | NPC Morocco | Morocco | F | Wheelchair Tennis |
Mariska Beijer | NPC Netherlands | Netherlands | F | Wheelchair Basketball |
Martina Caironi | NPC Italy | Italy | F | Para Athletics |
Lenine Cunha | Virtus | Portugal | M | Para Athletics |
Maria Delgado Nadal | NPC Spain | Spain | F | Para Swimming |
Iaroslav Denysenko | NPC Ukraine | Ukraine | M | Para Swimming |
Simon Detmer* | NPC USA | USA | M | Para Athletics |
Omara Durand Elias | NPC Cuba | Cuba | F | Para Athletics |
Luca Anna Ekler | NPC Hungary | Hungary | F | Para Athletics |
Chan Daniel Ho Yuen | NPC Hong Kong, China | Hong Kong, China | M | Para Badminton |
Ayao Severin Kansa* | NPC Togo | Togo | M | Para Athletics |
Vladyslava Kravchenko | NPC Malta | Malta | F | Para Swimming |
Husnah Kukundakwe | NPC Uganda | Uganda | F | Para Swimming |
Leomon Moreno da Silva | NPC Brazil | Brazil | M | Goalball |
Tania Nadarajah | NPC Great Britain | Great Britain | F | Para Archery |
Zahra Nemati | NPC Iran | Iran | F | Para Archery |
Sherif Osman | NPC Egypt | Egypt | M | Para Powerlifting |
Benjamin Pritchard | World Rowing | Great Britain | M | Para Rowing |
Charles Rozoy | NPC France | France | M | Para Swimming |
Mario Ernesto Sayes* | NPC El Salvador | El Salvador | M | Boccia |
Denise Schindler | UCI | Germany | F | Para Cycling |
Fatmir Seremeti | NPC Sweden | Sweden | M | Goalball |
Takayuki Suzuki | NPC Japan | Japan | M | Para Swimming |
Yujiao Tan | NPC China | China | F | Para Powerlifting |
Yoomin Won | NPC Korea | Korea, Republic of | M | Wheelchair Basketball |
*Candidate nomination depends on the athlete's qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The six IPC Athletes‘ Council members elected at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be unveiled at the Closing Ceremony of the Games on 8 September. They will then join the three winter representatives who were elected during the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, as well as appointed member Greg Polychronidis of Greece, and the IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair, to form the IPC Athletes‘ Council.
As Dutch wheelchair basketball player Jitske Visser, the current Chairperson of the IPC Athletes’ Council, is not seeking re-election, the IPC Athletes’ Council will elect a new Chairperson at it first meeting to be held in the final quarter of the year.
To oversee the election in Paris and ensure candidates adhere to IPC Code of Ethics and Campaign Rules, an IPC Electoral Commission has been appointed. The Athletes’ Council acts as the liaison between athletes and decision-makers and influences how Paralympic sport and the Movement grow and develop. All Aa accredited athletes competing in the Paralympic Games are encouraged to vote in the elections to ensure their voice is heard and their sport and region is represented.
All candidates must compete 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 (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020). At both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, 22 candidates sought election to the IPC Athletes’ Council, the previous record number before the number of Paris 2024 candidates were announced.
More information on the IPC Athletes' Council is available on Paralympic.org/athletes-council.