TEHRAN – Archer Zahra Nemati - a two-time Paralympic champion - has been nominated for the IPC Athletes’ Council elections at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Nemati became the first Iranian woman to win gold at either a Paralympic or Olympic Games at 2012 Paralympic Games.  

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that athletes from every continent for the elections. A record-equaling 22 athletes have been accepted as candidates to fill the six summer representative positions. 

The IPC Athletes’ Council is a group of elected athlete representatives who act as the voice of the Para athlete community to the IPC. The chairperson of the IPC Athletes’ Council is also one of the members of the IPC Governing Board.   

The IPC Athletes' Council elections will take place from 19 August to 3 September during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the Proud Paralympian area in the Main Dining Hall.

The IPC Electoral Commission will be chaired by Mark Copeland, chairperson of the IPC Legal and Ethics Committee.

The Athletes’ Council acts as the liaison between athletes and decision-makers and influences how Paralympic sport and the Movement grow and develop.

All candidates are active Paralympic athletes. This means he or she must compete in the current edition of the Paralympic Games at which the election is taking place, or have competed in either of the previous two editions of the Paralympic Games (London 2012 and Rio 2016). There were a record 22 candidates for the IPC Athletes’ Council elections in Rio 2016.