Olympic champion and World Taekwondo Athletes’ Committee Chair Cheick Sallah Cissé and two-time Olympic bronze medallist Hedaya Malak have been nominated as candidates for the IOC Athletes’ Commission elections to be held during the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

 

Cissé and Malak were proposed by their National Olympic Committees of Côte d'Ivoire and Egypt respectively and approved by the IOC Executive Board following confirmation of their eligibility to stand in the elections.

 

Cissé, who in his role as chair of the World Taekwondo Athletes’ Committee serves as an ex-officio member of the World Taekwondo Council, became the first Ivorian to ever win an Olympic gold medal when he took gold in a dramatic men’s -80kg final at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Cissé has gone on to establish himself as one of the most successful athletes in the sport having won 17 Grand Prix medals including 6 gold and this year in Baku became World Champion in the +87kg.

 

Malak is responsible for half of Egypt’s total Olympic medals in Taekwondo having won bronze at both the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. She has won four Grand Prix gold medals including one gold and continues to set the standards for female Taekwondo fighters in Egypt.

 

World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said:

“We are delighted to see Cheick Sallah Cissé and Hedaya Malak nominated for IOC Athletes’ Commission elections. Both athletes are legends of our sport and inspire people not just in their own countries but throughout Africa and beyond. We are proud to have Cissé serve on the World Taekwondo Council as Athletes’ Committee Chair and we have no doubt that both he and Malak would make excellent contributions to the IOC Athletes’ Commission. We wish them both the best of luck in the elections.”

 

32 athletes to run for IOC Athletes’ Commission elections in Paris (olympics.com)