Norman Bellingham has reportedly been appointed to a US Congressional committee overseeing USOPC reform ©USOPC

Olympic gold medallist and former canoeist Norman Bellingham is reportedly among the appointments to a Congressional committee tasked with overseeing reforms to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the state of the organisation.

According to documents cited by Associated Press, Bellingham, a former chief executive of the United States Olympic Committee who won the gold medal in canoe sprint at Seoul 1988, was chosen for a position on the panel by Republican Doug Lamborn.

Lamborn, the US Representative for Colorado's fifth Congressional district, has also selected athlete agent Peter Carlisle and former Defense Department inspector general Joe Schmitz for the commission, set up as part of the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020.

Associated Press reported Senator Roger Wicker has picked London 2012 Olympic long jump champion Brittney Reese and John Dane, who represented the US in sailing at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

At least eight members of the commission must be current or former Olympic or Paralympic athletes.

The commission's main aim is to study matters related to US participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including reviewing reform efforts from the USOPC.

Four-time world champion and London 2012 Olympic long jump gold medallist Brittney Reese has also been chosen to sit on the commission ©Getty Images
Four-time world champion and London 2012 Olympic long jump gold medallist Brittney Reese has also been chosen to sit on the commission ©Getty Images

Many of the reforms outlined in the act have either been implemented or are in the process of being implemented by the USOPC, which came under fire following the sexual abuse scandal involving disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

The creation of the commission was one of the key provisions in the act, which became law after US President Donald Trump signed it in October.

The act grants Congress the power to remove members of the USOPC Board of Directors, and gives it the ability to decertify national governing bodies in the country if they fail to adhere to requirements.

The act requires the USOPC to give the US Center for SafeSport $20 million (£15.5 million/€17 million) in annual funding to do its work more effectively and establishes safeguards designed to protect amateur athletes from abuse from coaches and other officials within Olympic and Paralympic sports.

It could be viewed as Government interference in a National Olympic Committee, strictly prohibited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The USOPC had initially expressed concern over the consequences for the organisation and the country's athletes if it were to come into law, but has since offered support to the legislation.