India and Canada have every reason to feel cheerful before the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Besides Anant Singh (a member of the Indian Diaspora) and Nita Ambani, Tricia Smith of Canada has retained their membership in the International Olympic Committee.

They will continue as IOC members for another term of eight years as their re-election was endorsed at the 142nd session of the International Olympic Committee held in Paris, two days before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games.

Anant Singh, Nita Ambani and Tricia Smith were first elected as individual members on the eve of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Nita M. Ambani is a leading Indian philanthropist and founder of the Reliance Foundation. Anant Singh is a South Africa-based film producer and philanthropist.

Speaking after her re-election, Mrs Nita. M. Ambani said “I am deeply honoured to be re-elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee. I thank President Bach and all my colleagues in the IOC for their faith and trust in me. This election is not only a personal milestone but also a recognition of India’s growing influence in the global sporting arena. I share this moment of joy and pride with every Indian and look forward to continuing our efforts to strengthen the Olympic Movement in India and the world.”

Nita Ambani was first appointed to the prestigious body in 2016, at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. As India’s first woman to join the IOC, Nita Ambani has already made great strides for the association, while championing India’s sporting ambitions and Olympic vision. This includes recently hosting the first IOC session in Mumbai for over 40 years, in October 2023, which was hailed as showcasing the new, ambitious India to the world.

As Founder and Chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani seeks to empower millions of Indians with resources and opportunities. She drives various initiatives across sport, education, health, art, and culture – all aimed at improving the lives of people across the country. Reliance Foundation is at the forefront of driving India’s sports growth with its programmes from grassroots to the elite reaching more than 22.9 million children and youth in India since its inception. The organisation is focused on promoting a variety of sports across India, particularly in remote places where access to sport and equipment are not a given.

As part of a long-term partnership with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Reliance Foundation is opening the first-ever India House at the Paris Olympics 2024 this summer. India House will be a ‘“home away from home” for athletes, a place to celebrate wins and share India’s Olympic journey with the world. It demonstrates India’s ambitions to become a dominant force in global sports, fostering greater success at the Olympics and charting a course towards hosting the Games.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) hailed the re-election of its President, four-time Olympian and Olympic medallist Tricia Smith, as a Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

After she was elected an IOC member in 2016, Smith has been advocating for women in leadership, fair sport and a safe, inclusive and barrier-free global sports system. She has represented Canada on various IOC Commissions, including:

· The Legal Affairs Commission (since 2017)

· Commission for Women in Sport (2018 – 2021)

· The Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commission (since 2022)

· Coordination for the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (since 2019).

Through these roles, Smith actively continues to advance Canadian leadership internationally. Her many awards and distinctions are a testament to her passion for sport and her commitment to the promotion of Olympic values, both at home and abroad.

“Tricia is an inspiring figure, and all of us at the Canadian Olympic Committee are privileged to work with her every day,” said David Shoemaker, CEO and Secretary General of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “Tricia has been a force for positive change in the Canadian and the international sports communities. She has advocated passionately for sport as a human right, and approached her leadership positions with integrity and respect, always with the experience and well-being of athletes front and centre. Congratulations to Tricia on her re-election and her continued impact on sport.”

In addition to her roles on the COC and IOC, Smith is Vice President of World Rowing. She is also an elected member of the executive committees of Pan Am Sports and the Association of National Olympic Committees. She is a recipient of the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia and honorary degrees from the University of British Columbia and Western University. She is also a member of the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today elected two new Vice-Presidents and two Executive Board (EB) members, as well as eight new IOC Members – four women and four men – during its 142nd session in Paris.

Fifteen IOC Members within the age limit were also re-elected, the term of office of one Member was extended and two Honorary Members were elected.

Changes to the IOC Executive Board

Also elected were Nawal El Moutawakel (Mar) and Dr Gerardo Werthen (Argentina) as IOC Vice-Presidents, whose terms of office will start on 10 August after the conclusion of the 142nd IOC Session, when the terms of John Coates (Australia) and Ser Miang Ng (Singapore) come to an end.

Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski (Phi) and Li Lingwei (China) were also elected to the IOC Executive Board.

Eight new IOC Members – four women and four men – were elected and took the oath during the Sessions. The terms for six of these members will begin immediately, while for another one, it will start at the end of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and for the remaining members, it will start on January 1, 2025.

Reaffirming the IOC’s commitment to lead by example and close the gender gap across its leadership positions, women now account for 42.3 per cent of IOC Members, with 47 women out of a total of 111 members. With the election of three female Olympians, the IOC membership now consists of 43 Olympians (23 women and 20 men).

Three women – Aya Medany (Egypt), Sarah Walker (New Zealand), and Paula Belen Pareto (Argentina) – and Hugh Robertson (Great Britain) were elected as Independent Individuals:

Damaris Young, Gene Sykes and Ian Chesterman as Presidents of the National Olympic Committees of Panama, USA and Australia have also been elected.

Linked to his function within the International Federation (IF), John Eliasch, President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (Great Britain), was also elected to the IOC.

Fifteen IOC Members arriving at the end of their eight-year term, following their election or re-election in 2016, were re-elected by the IOC Session for another eight years, with the age limit being taken into consideration for the end of the terms (80 for those elected before December 1999 and 70 for those elected after that date):

· Thomas Bach (Germany, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1953, elected in 1991)

· Sergii Bubka (Ukraine, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1963, elected in 2008)

· Richard Carrion (Puerto Rico, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1952, elected in 1990)

· Anita L Defrantz (United States of America, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1952, elected in 1986)

· Guy Drutt (France, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1950, elected in 1996)

· Robin Mitchell (Fiji, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1946, elected in 1994)

· Denis Oswald (Switzerland, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1947, elected in 1991)

· The Princess Royal (Great Britain, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1950, elected in 1988)

· Nita Ambani (India, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1962, elected in 2016)

· Sari Essayah (Finland, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1967, elected in 2016)

· Ivo Ferriani (Italy, membership linked to his function as President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), year of birth: 1960, elected in 2016)

· Auvita Rapilla (Papua New Guinea, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1971, elected in 2016)

· Anant Singh (South Africa, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1956, elected in 2016)

· Tricia Smith (Canada, membership linked to her function as President of the Canadian Olympic Committee, year of birth: 1957, elected in 2016)

· Karl Stoss (Austria, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1956, elected in 2016)

The Session also extended for four years the term of office of Mustapha Berraf (Algeria, membership linked to his function as President of the Association of the National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), whose age limit, 70, will be reached at the end of 2024), starting from 1 January 2025 and running until the end of 2028. This is due to his position as President of ANOCA and his pioneering role in promoting the Olympic Movement and its values through the National Olympic Committees in Africa.

The Session also elected as Honorary Members, as of January 1, 2025, John Coates (Australia) and Ugur Erdener (Türkey), whose terms of office are coming to an end on 31 December.

Also re-elected was Amina Mohamed (Kenya) to the IOC Ethics Commission for a four-year term in her capacity as an independent member. Mrs Mohamed was first elected to the IOC Ethics Commission in 2020.

(Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience of 14 years with Reuters News and 30 years with The Tribune Group, covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows.)