| Sunday, February 22, 2026 IOC Session elects two new IOC MembersThe 145th IOC Session in Milan concluded with several key elections. These included the election of the new IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC) members Yunjong Won and Johanna Talihärm as IOC Members, the election of the AC’s new Chair, Pau Gasol Sáez, to the Executive Board (EB), and the confirmation that long‑serving IOC Members Syed Shahid Ali and Dr Robin E. Mitchell will receive Honorary Member status.  Election of new IOC Members from the IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC)Yunjong Won (Republic of Korea, bobsleigh) and Johanna Talihärm (Estonia, biathlon), elected by their peers competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, were put forward by the IOC Executive Board (EB) for election as IOC Members. The Session confirmed their election today, after which the new Members took the oath – a symbolic moment finalising their membership. In addition, the IOC Session elected the new Chair of the IOC AC, Pau Gasol Sáez, as an EB member to replace Emma Terho, who has completed her term. In addition, two other IOC AC members, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Hong Zhang, have concluded their terms on the AC and will therefore also finish their terms as IOC Members.At the end of the Games, the IOC’s membership will therefore stand at 106, with 46 women and 60 men. Women will thus represent 43.4 per cent of the total membership. The IOC will have 42 Olympians among its Members, 23 women and 19 men, underscoring the institution’s strong and enduring athlete representation. Two long-standing IOC Members become Honorary MembersThe Session approved the transition of two long-serving IOC Members to Honorary Member status, following the EB’s recommendation from December 2025. Syed Shahid Ali (Pakistan, Independent Individual, born in 1946, elected in 1996) and Dr Robin E. Mitchell (Fiji, Independent Individual, born in 1946, elected in 1994) will be granted this status as of 1 January 2027.At the end of the Session, it was confirmed that an extraordinary IOC Session will be held in Lausanne on 24 and 25 June 2026. |
