María Soto presented to the IOC Session in 2013 and baseball and softball sought to return to the Olympic programme ©Getty Images

Venezuelan Olympic Committee President María Soto and two-time Olympic medallist Monica Abbott have been elected to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Athletes' Commission.

New Zealand's Cole Evans and Czech Vaclav Svoboda were also elected as the men's softball representatives.

The four will sit on the WBSC Athletes' Commission, as well as another panel.

Soto has been ratified as the women's softball athlete representative on the WBSC Softball Board.

Svoboda will be on the same body as the men's softball athlete representative.

Monica Abbott received the WBSC Order of the Golden Diamond earlier this year ©WBSC
Monica Abbott received the WBSC Order of the Golden Diamond earlier this year ©WBSC

Abbott, who is American and won World Games gold earlier this year, is the women's softball athlete representative on the WBSC Executive Board.

Evans is the men's softball athlete representative on the WBSC Executive Board.

Their baseball equivalents - Timothy Atherton from Australia, Dutchman Randolph Oduber, Wing Ki Mui of Hong Kong and Japan's Ayako Rokkaku - had already been elected.

Oduber and Rokkaku have seats on the WBSC Executive Board while Atherton and Mui are WBSC Baseball Board members.