Sweden’s Nathalie Lindqvist has been elected as the first member of the ISU Athletes' Commission ©Getty Images

Sweden’s Nathalie Lindqvist has been elected as the first member of the International Skating Union (ISU) Athletes’ Commission after Russian Daria Rakhvalskaia was forced to withdraw due to her country already having a candidate standing for a figure skating position.

The ISU told the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSFR) that they had to pull one of their athletes out of the running for a spot on the newly-established Commission as Fedor Klimov was bidding for the single and pairs role.

The FSFR have withdrawn Rakhvalskaia, leaving Lindqvist as the sole synchronised skating candidate.

Hungary’s Viktor Knoch, a multiple European Championships medallist who won relay silver at the 2015 World Championships in Moscow, will battle it out with Canada’s Caroline Truchon to become the short track speed skating representative on the Commission.

Three candidates - Margot Boer of The Netherlands, Wang Beixing of China and Luiza Zlotkowska of Poland - are standing for the designated speed skating position.

A total of eight skaters, including Klimov, are vying for election as the single and pairs representative.

Olympic singles bronze medallist Denis Ten of Kazakhstan is among those in the running to become the singles and pairs representative ©Getty Images
Olympic singles bronze medallist Denis Ten of Kazakhstan is among those in the running to become the singles and pairs representative ©Getty Images

American John Coughlin, Misha Ge of Uzbekistan, Kiira Korpi of Finland and Valentina Marchei of Italy all met the January 1 deadline set by the ISU.

They are joined in the running by Olympic singles bronze medallist Denis Ten of Kazakhstan, Jian Tong of China and the Czech Republic’s Tomas Verner.

France’s Nathalie Pechalat, Canadian Paul Poirier and Turkish skater Alper Uçar are the nominees in the ice dance category.

It was decided during the organisation’s 56th Ordinary Congress, held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in June, to set up the Commission so skaters can have their views represented within the governing body.

The Commission will be made up of five athletes from each of the skating disciplines - single and pair skating, ice dance, synchronised skating, speed skating and short track speed skating.

Each of the representatives will be elected at votes, conducted by secret ballot, held during the four World Championships between February and April.

The speed skating athlete will be chosen at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Gangneung in South Korea from February 9 to 12, while the short track competitor is set to be elected at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam from March 10 to 12.

The single and pair and ice skating representatives are due to be decided at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki in Finland.