France's Olympic pole vault gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie has been elected to the IAAF Athletes' Commission after polling more votes than anyone else at the election in Doha ©Getty Images

France's Olympic pole vault gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie heads a group of six new members elected to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Athletes' Commission, it was announced here today.

Lavillenie is one of three Olympic champions elected.

He came top with 627 votes. 

He is joined by another pole vaulter, Greece's Katerina Stefanidi, and New Zealand shot putter Dame Valerie Adams.

United States double Olympic 1500 metres medallist Bernard Lagat has also been elected.

The group of new members is completed by Belgium's 400m runner Kevin Borlee and Jamaica's Commonwealth Games 3,000m steeplechase gold medallist Aisha Praught-Leer.

They join the remaining IAAF Athletes' Commission members elected at London in 2017 and who still have two years left to serve.

They are Canada's Inaki Gomez, Saint Kitts and Nevis' Kim Collins, Poland's Adam Kszczot, Germany's Thomas Rohler, Serbia's Ivana Spanovic and Australia's Benita Willis. 

"I would like to thank Inaki Gomez for chairing the Athletes' Commission over the last two years and for his very significant contribution to the Council," IAAF President Sebastian Coe said. 

"In that time we have driven through a range of tough decisions that have been, in part, shaped by Inaki’s sound advice and collaborative approach."

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