NextGen 2020 - Europe

(ATR) Europe still leads the IOC membership with about 40 percent of the members European citizens. But recent classes of new IOC members have been dominated by new members outside the continent.

Giovanni Malago from Italy is a member of the freshman class of 2019. President of Italian NOC CONI, Malago has the same title for the Milan 2026 organizing committee. He’ll be navigating the worlds of Italian politics with IOC protocols and practices, a course that can be as treacherous as an icy downhill in Cortina.

Spyros Capralos, another 2019 class member, is now one of the few on the IOC with hands-on experience in all phases of organizing the Olympics. From Athens 2004 to his current NOC presidency, Capralos is an Olympic veteran who also plays a big role in the European Games of the European OlympicCommittee. Capralos will host the IOC Session in Athens in 2021.

Jiri Kejval, president of the Czech NOC is now the face of the IOC in its relations with the worldwide sponsors of the Games. It’s a quick rise to chair of the IOC marketing commission for Kejval, an IOC member since 2018.

Daina Gudzineviciute is NOC President in Lithuania, one of just a scattering of women who lead NOCs in Europe. The gold medal shooter who competed in five Olympics is a member of the cocomm for Milan 2026.

Yelena Isinbayeva, a member of the IOC Athletes Commission, could be a leading voice for Russia as the Russian doping scandal drags on. She’s already known for backing the rights of clean Russian athletes to compete. With harsh sanctions possible against Russia for four more years that may preclude the nomination of new IOC members from Russia, Isinbayeva could have the opportunity to speak out for her country.

Reported by Ed Hula.