By NICK GIONGCO
Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, the 2002 Busan Asian Games equestrian champion, has made it to the inner circle of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Jaworski, daughter of former Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco, was elected as member of the influential Executive Board on Friday night during the IOC’s 136th session via videoconference.
Before getting elected, Jaworski’s role in the IOC is her being the representative to the Philippines, succeeding Frank Elizalde.
She was joined by Argentinian Gerardo Werthein and they are expected to begin serving after the 136th session.
Jaworski and Werthein will succeed former world pole vault champion Sergey Bubka of Ukraine and Ser Miang Ng of Singapore.
The 46-year-old Jaworski’s entry into the IOC didn’t come as a surprise to Cojuangco, who served several terms as POC president.
“The IOC is starting to bring in female members as well as those who are young,” said Cojuangco.
Jaworski is likewise the chairman of the IOC’s Commission for Olympic Education and a part of a group that looks into the staging of the rescheduled Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Meantime, Sebastian Coe, the head of World Athletics, was voted in as a member of the IOC on Friday after being turned down several times.
Coe, the two-time Olympic 1,500 meters champion for Britain who became head of athletics’ world governing body in 2015, was blocked from membership as recently as December over a conflict of interest.
But Coe changed his role at the marketing company he is currently running as managing director to a passive position, thus paving the way to IOC membership.
Coe’s belated entry into the IOC club is significant because he has been mentioned as a potential future president of the Olympic movement.
Voting at the IOC Session, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, saw 85 valid votes with six abstentions: 77 voted to approve Coe’s membership, with eight voting against.
