European Paralympic champion Patrick O’Leary is the latest addition to the International Canoe Federation’s Athlete Committee.

Ireland’s O’Leary will join the new-look committee, which includes Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Jiri Prskavec and Sandor Totka, with the task of helping to shape the post-pandemic future of ICF paddle sports.

Men’s K1 canoe slalom Olympic gold medalist Jiri Prskavec of the Czech Republic, and men’s 200 metre canoe sprint Tokyo champion Sandor Totka of Hungary have been endorsed by their athlete community to be their voice on the athlete committee.

Joining Prskavec from slalom will be British women’s C1 paddler, Eilidh Gibson, while 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Bridgitte Hartley of South Africa will join Totka as a canoe sprint representative.

2016 Rio paracanoe silver medalist Amanda Jennings of Australia returns to the athlete committee. Voting for two representatives from non-Olympic ICF disciplines will be undertaken soon.

O’Leary became European VL3 champion at this year’s championships in Poznan, Poland, and competed at both the Rio and Tokyo Paralympic Games.

The ICF congratulates all the athlete committee members, and looks forward to sharing ideas about the future of all canoeing disciplines. The ICF would also like to thank Tim Lodge and members of his outgoing athlete committee for the outstanding work and valuable input they provided during their term.