Clare Egan elected chair of IBU Athlete’s Committee

On 16 March, the USA’s Clare Egan was elected as chair of the International Biathlon Union’s (IBU) Athlete’s Committee.

Egan made her IBU World Cup debut in January 2015 and has been a regular ever since. She realised her Olympic dream in PyeongChang, competing in the individual 15km and sprint events, as well as the 4x6km relay at her first Olympic Winter Games..

‘A great honour’

The 30-year-old received 130 of the 399 votes cast at the IBU Athlete’s Committee election, the highest number from her fellow athletes, and has spoken of her privilege at such confidence being placed on her to take on the role.

“It is a great honour, a bit of a surprise, and a clear mandate to continue the fight for integrity and clean sport within the IBU,” said Egan.

“Thanks to the work of our predecessors – Lowell Bailey, Darya Domracheva, Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Aita Gasparin – the newly-elected Athlete’s Committee is poised to take on a more central role in IBU governance,” she added.

“I take this role very seriously and I’m motivated to work on behalf of all IBU athletes as the new chair of the Athlete’s Committee.”

Olympic legend Fourcade among new members

The Athlete’s Committee, composed of two male and two female athletes, acts as a link between active athletes and the IBU’s executive board. Vocal in critiquing such prevailing issues as doping, Egan has the support of her peers in helping to move the sport forward.

Aita Gasparin of Switzerland is the only returning member of the current committee having received 105 votes, with Erik Lesser of Germany (100 votes) and Martin Fourcade of France (98 votes) also joining. They will each serve from 2018 to 2022.

Gasparin, 24, is the youngest sister of fellow biathletes Selina and Elisa Gasparin, while Lesser is a three-time Olympic medallist. Fourcade, meanwhile, became the most successful French Olympian of all time with three gold medals in PyeongChang taking his overall tally to five.