The athlete, a three-time Olympian over the 110 metres barriers at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, won a silver medal at the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games.

The 36-year-old was elected to replace cyclist Santiago Botero on the Committee in December 2013 but has only now been fully ratified as the representative, a procedure which took place at the COC headquarters in Bogota. 

He was joined by COC Athletes' Commission colleagues - footballer Sandra Sepúlveda, shooter Danilo Caro, gymnast Jorge Hugo Giraldo and BMX rider Andres Jimenez - all of whom were elected last November at the Central America and Caribbean Games in Veracruz.

Paulo Cesar Villar (left) alongside other COC Athletes' Commission members following the ratification ©COC



The athlete representative is entitled to vote at general meetings of the COC, along with the rest of the 13-member Executive Committee, with his remit to represent the views of athletes in the South American nation.

His term of office will last until 2017.

This comes as improving athlete representation on NOCs is a major aim in a global sense, something prioritised by the head of the Association of National Olympic Committees Athletes' Commission, New Zealand's Barbara Kendall. 

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