Sprint Legend and the fastest 40 year old in history Kim Anderson Collins has been elected to the IAAF Athletes Commission.
The St.Kitts-Nevis Hero led all with the most votes of any of the 15 Candidates vying for the 6 positions on the Commission.
Collins garnered 798 Votes which was 107 more than Germany’s Thomas Rohler who received 691 Votes .
All 1931 athletes who were accredited for this year’s World Championships which begin on Friday were eligible to vote. Of that number 1192 actually voted
The IAAF Athletes’ Commission represents the link between athletes and the governing body, ensuring the voice of the athletes is heard and fed into decision-making processes.
Fifteen athletes have been nominated for this year’s elections. To be eligible for nomination, athletes must have participated in at least one of the past two editions of the World Championships or in the most recent Olympic Games or be a competitor at this year’s IAAF World Championships.
The Athletes’ Commission is currently composed of 19 members, 12 of whom are elected by their fellow athletes and seven are appointed by IAAF Council.
The other athletes who made the top 6 were Ivana Spanovic(SRB) , Benita Willis(GER), Adam Ksztcot(POL), Inaki Gomez (CAN)
Collins and the remaining 5 of the top 6 Candidates will begin their mandate on January 1, 2018.
They will replace from current IAAF Athletes Commission members Hussain Taher Al-Sabee, Tommi Evila, Habiba Ghribi (she candidates again), Jennifer Joyce, Rozle Prezelj (he also goes again) and Matej Toth as their mandate ends in 2017.
Other 13 members have the mandate until end of 2019. They are Anita Talay, Fabiana Murer, Mehdi Baala, Paula Radcliffe, Michael Frater, Koji Murofushi, Ezekiel Kemboi, Andreas Thorkildsen, Valerie Adams, Mutaz Essa Barshim, Yelena Isinbayeva, Christian Olsson and Dwight Phillips.
Collins is one of the most popular, revered and loved athletes in the world. His phenomenal International career began in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympic Games where he made it as far as the Quarter-Finals. Some 21 years later Collins at 41 is one of the top sprinters I the world with a 21 year Career under his belt which includes Commonwealth and World Championships in addition 5 World Outdoor and Indoor Championship Medals and an amazing 6 Olympic Appearances. The most recent being his semifinal run at the Rio Olympics at age 40.