The five international sailors that have been elected to the World Sailing Athletes' Committee are:

-Kiran Badloe (Netherlands) Men's Windsurfing - Three-time RS:X World champion, two-time RS:X European champion and Tokyo 2020 Men's Windsurfing Olympic champion. 

-Valentin Bontus (Austria) Men's Kite - Recently crowned the inaugural Paris 2024 Men's Kite Olympic champion. 

-Lisa Darmanin (Australia) Mixed Multihull - Four-time Australian Female Sailor of the Year, Rio 2016 Mixed Multihull silver medallist and Tokyo 2020 Olympian. 

-Maria Erdi (Hungary) Women's Dinghy - 2023 Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year, 2023 ILCA 6 World champion and three-time Olympian. 

-Henriette Smith (Norway), one half of the 2023 RS Venture Connect Para World Champions, will also join the Athletes' Commission as the Para Inclusive Sailing representative.

David Graham, CEO of World Sailing, said, "I am delighted to welcome the five new members to the Athletes' Committee. These impressive sailors will help steer the future of the sport by communicating the views and priorities of sailors to the Federation. 

"Our new governance structure ensures that athlete input is gained across all of World Sailing's commissions, committees and forums, and this direct line of communication from the field is really useful in helping our sport to continually improve. Their insight will be vital as we implement the priorities outlined in World Sailing's Olympic Vision and seek reinstatement to the Paralympic Games." 

World Sailing's Athletes' Committee is made up of nine members and meets annually in person. Its role is to represent the interests of all Olympic and Para Inclusive sailors to World Sailing, and to encourage open communication and feedback from the sailors. 

The first meeting of the new committee will take place at the 2024 World Sailing Annual Conference. The final member will be appointed by the World Sailing President following the Presidential election in November 2024 to ensure a balance between regions, genders and events. 

Once the final member is known, the Committee will meet to elect its Chair and Vice-Chair for a four-year term. The Chair of the Committee will be a member of the World Sailing Board and a member of the World Sailing Council. 

In line with the IOC Athletes' Commission, the maximum term of office is eight years. Three members of the former Athletes' Commission, now renamed the Athletes' Committee, have an additional term of office: 

-David Hughes (United States), Mixed Dinghy. 

-Pawel Kolodzinski (Poland), Men's Skiff. 

-Pavlos Kontides (Cyprus) Men's Dinghy

World Sailing is the global governing body of sailing, officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee. Founded in 1907, its vision is for a world where millions more people fall in love with sailing. World Sailing is made up of 147 Member National Authorities, the national governing bodies for sailing around the world and 119 World Sailing Class Associations.