Malta’s two-time Paralympian, Vladyslava Kravchenko, has been elected to serve on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes’ Council, achieving the second highest vote count.
The newly elected IPC Athletes' Council. Left to right: Martina Caironi (Para athletics, Italy), Lenine Cunha (Para athletics, Portugal), Vladyslava Kravchenko (Para swimming, Malta), Denise Schindler (Para cycling, Germany), Yujiao Tan (Para Powerlifting, China) and Yoomin Won (Wheelchair Basketball, Republic of Korea). Photo credit - International Paralympic Committee
The IPC announced that six members (four women and two men) were elected for a four-year term. The IPC Athletes’ Council were elected by their fellow athletes in a vote that took place during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The IPC highlighted that there were close to a record 25 candidates representing 12 different sports from four continents. In total, 1,821 athletes cast their ballot. The six elected members will be presented during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony on Sunday 8 September.
The IPC Athletes’ Council is the collective voice of Paralympic athletes within the IPC and the Paralympic Movement. Its role involves providing feedback, advice, and reporting to the IPC Governing Board on IPC matters from the athletes’ perspective, representing the interests of Paralympic athletes, and actively engaging with the athlete community.
Over the past three editions of the Summer Paralympic Games, almost 50% of all participating countries were represented by teams of 3 or less athletes, which made up only 3% of total participants at each Games. These Paralympians typically come from small states, developing nations, regions in conflict, and countries with recently established National Paralympic Committees.
Vladyslava Kravchenko commented that: “My primary objective is to be the voice of athletes from countries where Para sport is currently underdeveloped and to support the IPC’s strategic objective of driving impact through Para sport in developing regions.”
Congratulating Vladyslava on her election, Malta Paralympic Committee (MPC) underlined that “This election is reflective of Vladyslava’s unmatched ability and proven track record of building communities and enabling individuals through the transformative power of Para Sport”, adding that “We must recognise what a significant moment for Malta this election result is - Vladyslava’s election places Malta on the global stage and strengthens our collective resolve to pro-actively shape the global Paralympic Movement.”
Photo credit - International Paralympic Committee
Vladyslava Kravchenko is a two-time Paralympian and an award-winning Para sport advocate. In 2016 she became Malta’s first female swimmer and first female athlete since 1980 to represent the country at the Paralympic Games, repeating the feat in Tokyo 2020. She supported the formal re-establishment of the MPC in 2018 and has been a Board Member since then. She graduated as a Master of Science in Sport Management, Politics and International Development from Loughborough University, as a recipient of the Malta Sports Scholarship, and was recently awarded an academic scholarship by the Loughborough University London to pursue a PhD in Diplomacy and International Governance.
Read the press release in Maltese via this link:
Malta Paralympic Committee
Published at 9:00 PM CET, Monday 9 September 2024
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