Olympic athletes elect Korean bobsled pilot and Estonian biathlete to represent them at IOC

By: The Associated Press Posted: 8:01 AM CST Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 Last Modified: 8:45 AM CST Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

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MILAN (AP) — Athletes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games elected a South Korean bobsled pilot and an Estonian biathlete on Thursday to represent them at the International Olympic Committee.

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MILAN (AP) — Athletes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games elected a South Korean bobsled pilot and an Estonian biathlete on Thursday to represent them at the International Olympic Committee.

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This article was published 19/02/2026 (203 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MILAN (AP) — Athletes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games elected a South Korean bobsled pilot and an Estonian biathlete on Thursday to represent them at the International Olympic Committee.

The eight-year terms for Yunjong Won and Johanna Talihärm will include voting with IOC members to pick a host for the 2036 Summer Games.

Won topped an 11-candidate ballot with 1,176 votes and Talihärm took the second IOC place with 983 votes. The IOC said 2,393 votes were cast, or 83.4% of the eligible athletes at the Winter Games.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, second right, poses for a photo with the President of the Milano Cortina Organising Committee Giovanni Malago, left and Chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission Emma Terho, during the inauguration of the Olympic Truce Mural, at the Olympic Village, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Andreas Rentz/Pool Photo via AP)

The candidates who failed to win election included former Olympic champions Chinese figure skater Cong Han, Canadian ski cross racer Marielle Thompson and Ukrainian aerials skier Oleksandr Abramenko. Thompson placed third with 683 votes.

The 40-year-old Won piloted a four-man bobsled crew to take silver at their home 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. He also competed at Sochi in 2014 and Beijing in 2022.

The 32-year-old Talihärm also competed at each of the past three Winter Games editions.

On the current list of 107-strong IOC membership, they will replace Finland ice hockey player Emma Terho and Norwegian cross-country skier Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen whose eight-year terms expire Sunday. Athletes have a quota of 15 elected member places at the IOC.

Terho has represented athletes on the IOC Executive Board since 2021. Her predecessor on the board was Kirsty Coventry, who is now IOC president.