Kravchenko elected chair of IPC Athletes' Council

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Vladyslava Kravchenko will take over the role of Chairperson from Jitske Visser, who served from November 2021 to November 2024. This was confirmed during a meeting held at the organisation's headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

The new Chair will serve for four years until 2028 and will be an ex officio member of the IPC Governing Board with voting rights.

Yoomin Won was also elected as second Vice-Chair during the same meeting.

The IPC Athletes' Council (AC) is the collective voice of Paralympic and Para athletes within the IPC and the greater Paralympic Movement. The Athletes' Council serves as an advisory body to the IPC Governing Board, carrying out tasks specifically delegated by the Board.

Newly elected Chairperson Vladyslava Kravchenko is a Paralympian and Para swimmer who represented Malta at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. She was re-elected as Member to the Council for a second term during elections held at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Vladyslava Kravchenko said: "My primary objective is to be a strong representative for Para athletes from countries where Para sport is currently underdeveloped, including small states, developing nations, regions in conflict, and countries with recently established National Paralympic Committees (NPCs).

"NPCs in these regions often lack the necessary infrastructure, funding, and support systems to nurture and develop Paralympians. I look forward to serving the Paralympic Movement in my new role and supporting the IPC's strategic objective of driving impact through Para sport globally."

IPC President Andrew Parsons congratulated Vladyslava Kravchenko and Yoomin Won on their election as Chairperson and second Vice-Chairperson. He said: "I am confident that with you at the helm the Council will continue to progress the mandate of athletes in a meaningful way. The IPC Governing Board welcomes your input to ensure that we remain an athlete-centred organisation."

The IPC Athletes' Council consists of nine athletes, including six summer and three winter athletes. In addition to Vladyslava Kravchenko, the five summer sport members are Martina Caironi (Italy, Para Athletics), Lenine Cunha (Portugal, Para Athletics), Denise Schindler (Germany, Para Cycling), Yuijao Tan (China, Para Powerlifting), and Yoomin Won (Rep. Korea, Wheelchair Basketball).

The three winter sport council members are Josh Dueck (Canada, Para Alpine Skiing), Mitchell Gourley (Australia, Para Alpine Skiing) and Birgit Skarstein (Norway, Para Nordic Skiing).

All Athletes' Council members are active Paralympic athletes. This means he or she must have competed in the current edition of the Paralympic Games at which the election is taking place or have competed in either of the previous two editions of the Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016).

Kravchenko also holds a master's degree from Loughborough and worked as a Research Assistant at the university's Peter Harrison Centre during the summer.

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