02/19/26 07:50:00
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02/19 07:48 CST Olympic athletes elect Korean bobsled pilot and Estonian
biathlete to represent them at IOC
Olympic athletes elect Korean bobsled pilot and Estonian biathlete to represent
them at IOC
MILAN (AP) --- Athletes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games elected a South
Korean bobsled pilot and an Estonian biathlete on Thursday to represent them at
the International Olympic Committee.
The eight-year terms for Yunjong Won and Johanna Talihrm will include voting
with IOC members to pick a host for the 2036 Summer Games.
Won topped an 11-candidate ballot with 1,176 votes and Talihrm took the second
IOC place with 983 votes. The IOC said 2,393 votes were cast, or 83.4% of the
eligible athletes at the Winter Games.
The candidates who failed to win election included former Olympic champions
Chinese figure skater Cong Han, Canadian ski cross racer Marielle Thompson and
Ukrainian aerials skier Oleksandr Abramenko.
The 40-year-old Won piloted a four-man bobsled crew to take silver at their
home 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. He also competed at Sochi in 2014 and Beijing
in 2022.
The 32-year-old Talihrm also competed at each of the past three Winter Games
editions.
On the current list of 107-strong IOC membership, they will replace Finland ice
hockey player Emma Terho and Norwegian cross-country skier Astrid Uhrenholdt
Jacobsen whose eight-year terms expire Sunday. Athletes have a quota of 15
elected member places at the IOC.
Terho has represented athletes on the IOC Executive Board since 2021. Her
predecessor on the board was Kirsty Coventry, who is now IOC president.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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