(LEAD) (Olympics) With LPGA star Park In-bee in running, 3 candidates drop out of election for IOC membership

With South Korean golfer Park In-bee running for election to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Athletes’ Commission, three candidates have dropped out of the race.

The commission’s website listed 29 candidates Thursday, down from the initial list of 32 unveiled in November last year.

Park, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist and an LPGA Hall of Famer, is vying for one of four seats set to become available, as four outgoing members will complete their eighth and final year of their terms. That quartet includes South Korea’s Ryu Seung-min, the 2004 Olympic table tennis champion who was elected to the commission in 2016.

Ryu said three candidates have lost their eligibility but did not offer further details. Missing from the original list of 32 candidates are: Hafsatu Kamara of Sierra Leone, Hedaya Malak of Egypt and Paula Belen Pareto of Argentina.

Members on the Athletes’ Commission are elected by their peers and serve the same functions and have the same responsibilities as other IOC members.

Park,
who is expecting her second child later this year, arrived in Paris on Monday night and has been meeting Olympians in the French capital.

Park, wearing a t-shirt showing her candidacy on the front and the back, spent Thursday meeting with athletes inside their village, introducing herself to them and briefing them on her campaign.

Some listened intently while a few others, having already cast their votes, didn’t give Park much of their time.

“Everyone is busy around here,” Park said. “I’ve gotten the cold shoulder, but I’ve also met plenty of good athletes.”

Park ran into South Korean badminton star An Se-young, world No. 1 in the women’s singles who will contend for her first Olympic medal in Paris.

“I’ve been trying to reach out to Korean athletes as well,” Park said, adding that fencer Gu Bon-gil has been especially supportive and telling fellow athletes to vote.

Asked how she is handling the legwork as an expectant mom, Park said, “I take a little break during lunch. I don’t have to walk as much as
I thought I would, but I must say it’s not easy to be standing for long stretches of time.”

On the commission’s website, Park offered “passion, excellence and respect” as three words to describe herself.

“From my experience at two Olympics, I have witnessed the empowering impact of Olympism. Now, I am driven to spread the Olympic values and provide leadership within the Olympic Movement,” Park wrote. “I have received so much love and support from the community throughout my professional career as a golfer. It is my duty to empower the future generation of athletes. As a dedicated working mother, I am motivated to inspire other athletes to pursue their dreams alongside family responsibilities.”

Park is no stranger to the administrative side of things, having served on the Athletes’ Commission for the International Golf Federation. She said her experience then “strengthened my conviction to stand up and represent my fellow athletes.”

“As a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, I want to reinforce athletes
‘ rights, attract top athletes, and reach out beyond the Olympic community,” she continued. “Your vote for me is a vote for knowledge, experience, and a commitment to amplifying the voices of all athletes.”

Park, who spent most of her teen years in the United States, elaborated on her campaign pledge on Thursday, saying she wanted to improve education systems and counseling services for retiring athletes in pursuit of their second careers.

She also went deeper into her choice of the words “passion, excellence and respect.”

“With ‘excellence,’ I wanted to create an environment where excellent athletes will be able to compete to the best of their abilities at Olympic Games. And I included ‘respect’ because I felt respect for the athletes has to be at the foundation,” Park said. “And I wanted to let people know I was prepared to work for the commission with passion.”

The results of this year’s election will be announced on Aug. 7.

South Korea currently has two other IOC members in Lee Kee-heung, head of the
Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, and Kim Jae-youl, president of the International Skating Union.

Source: Yonhap News Agency