IPC President becomes IOC member

Andrew Parsons (back row, second right) has met with Argentina’s Vice President Gabriela Michetti (front row, right) © • IPC

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons on Tuesday (9 October) was elected as an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Parsons,41, was one of nine officials to be elected at the session alongside the likes of Morinari Watanabe, President of the International Gymnastic Federation; Giovanni Malagò, President of the Italian Olympic Committee; and William Blick, President of the Uganda National Olympic Committee.

When Parsons was elected as IPC President in September 2017 he made strengthening the relationship with the IOC and securing the future of the IPC and Paralympic Movement his number one priority. In March 2018, he signed a historic long-term agreement with IOC President Thomas Bach through to 2032 which deepens existing co-operation between the two organisations and provides the Paralympic Movement with even greater stability.

Andrew Parsons said: “I would like to thank the IOC membership for my election as a member which I believe underlines the strength of the relationship that now exists between the IPC and IOC, as well as the Paralympic and Olympic Movements.

“Since we signed the latest agreement in March there has been tremendous progress and co-operation at all levels between our two organisations and the future looks extremely exciting. By working closer together, we really can do so much more to use sport as a tool to changing society for the better.”

On Monday, Parsons, together with IPC Chief Executive Officer Xavier Gonzalez, met with Gabriela Michetti, the Vice President of Argentina, at Casa Rosada, the seat of the Argentine national government. Joining the meeting were Carlos Alberto Rodriguez, President of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Argentina and Carolos Mac Allister, National Secretary of Sports.

“We enjoyed an extremely productive meeting with Vice President Michetti covering several topics” said Parsons. “We talked about how we could strengthen the Paralympic Movement in Argentina, through the NPC, and the country’s National Disability Plan. We also spoke about how Para sport can help push the wider disability human rights agenda in the country.”

On Wednesday Parsons will head to Jakarta, Indonesia, to attend the 2018 Asian Para Games which are currently underway involving nearly 3,000 athletes from 43 countries.