By Duncan Mackay

Yelena Govorova and Oleksiy Torokhtiy have been elected as the chair and deputy chair of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Athletes' Commission ©NOCUOlympic triple jump bronze medallist Yelena Govorova has been appointed as the new chair the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU) Athletes' Commission, it has been announced.


The 41-year-old was chosen by the newly-elected Athletes' Commission at its first meeting at the headquarters of the NOCU in Kyiv.

She replaces Oleksandr Krykun, the Atlanta 1996 hammer bronze medallist 

Govorova - better known as Olena Hovorova when she was competing, which included her bronze medal at Sydney 2000 - was previously the deputy chair of the Commission.

She has been elected for a period of four years up until 2018.

Govorova's deputy will be 28-year-old weightlifter Oleksiy Torokhtiy, the London 2012 under 105 kilogram gold medallist. 

Ukrainian competitors who have represented the country in the last two Olympic Games were eligible to vote in the elections for the Athletes' Commission ©NOCUUkrainian competitors who have represented the country in the last two Olympic Games were eligible to vote in the elections for the Athletes' Commission ©NOCU

Other Olympic gold medallists elected to the Athletes' Commission included boxer Oleksandr Usyk, who won the heavyweight gold medal at London 2012 and has now turned professional. 

Other Olympic champions on the Commission include gymnast Valeriy Honcharov, the Athens 2004 parallel bars gold medallist, and fencer Olha Kharlan, a member of the Ukrainian team that won the sabre team title at Beijing 2008.

Two other Athens 2004 gold medallists were also elected, shooter Olena Kostevych, winner of the 10 metre air pistol title, and wrestler Iryna Merleni, who triumphed in the the under 48kg title.

Other members of the Commission elected were five-time world rhythm gymnastics champion Anna Bessonova, double World Biathlon Championships bronze medallist Andriy Deryzemlya and Olha Saladuha, who is also a triple jumper and was the 2011 world champion. 

The youngest member of the Commission is Alpine skier Dmytro Mytsak, who is just 18 and competed at Sochi 2014. 

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