Alistair Brownlee named to IOC Athletes’ Commission

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee likes to stay busy. In addition to his triathlon exploits he’s written a book (“Relentless: Secrets of the Sporting Elite“), he sits on the PTO Athlete Board and, along with brother Jonathan, keeps busy with the Brownlee Foundation that has introduced triathlon to tens of thousands of school children in Great Britain. There’s probably a lot more he has on the go, too – I just don’t know about it. One other thing he will have going on for the next little bit will be work with the Athletes’ Commission of the  International Olympic Committee (IOC) – he was just named along side Allyson Felix, Oluseyi Smith and Masomah Ali Zada.

“It’s an honor to be appointed to the IOC Athletes’ Commission,” Brownlee said. “I am a product of the Olympic movement; watching the first ever Olympic Triathlon in Sydney inspired me to dream and work hard towards those dreams. It will be a privilege to represent the athlete’s of the Olympic movement and play a small part in helping to realise the dream’s of more young people.”

“We are absolutely delighted to have the voice of one of our most successful and charismatic athletes, Alistair Brownlee, joining the Athletes’ Commission,” said World Triathlon President, Marisol Casado, an IOC member herself, as well as a member of six IOC Commissions. “His voice, and the voice of all triathletes around the world, will be taken even more into consideration, and is again the proof that our sport has a strong presence in the Olympic movement.”

Here’s more information on the new IOC Athletes’ Commission members courtesy of World Triathlon:

Allyson Felix represented the USA in athletics at five editions of the Olympic Games, winning seven gold medals and a total of 11 Olympic medals. Last week, Felix – who is a member of the LA28 Organising Committee Athletes’ Commission – announced her retirement at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon (USA), and she leaves the sport as the most decorated female athlete in Olympic track and field history.

Alistair Brownlee competed for Great Britain in triathlon at three editions of the Olympic Games, winning gold medals at both London 2012 and Rio 2016. He has since served as a member of the Athletes’ Commission of the European Olympic Committees and on the Athlete Advisory Committee of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Oluseyi Smith represented Canada at both the Summer and Winter Games, competing in the 4x100m athletics relay at London 2012 before switching to bobsleigh and finishing sixth in the four-man event at PyeongChang 2018. Oluseyi has served as Chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission and also participated in the IOC Young Leaders programme – which saw him launch a project to help grassroots sports events in Canada become more sustainable.

Cyclist Masomah Ali Zada competed at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 as part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. Having faced severe challenges and disapproval for cycling competitively in her native Afghanistan, she was granted asylum in France in 2017, where she was able to train without fear. In 2019, Ali Zada addressed the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Congress in Lausanne (Switzerland), talking about her efforts to promote cycling for women in her home country, and she is also studying civil engineering at university in Lille (France).