Marie Bochet, Rudolf Klemetti and Birgit Røkkum Skarstein will serve a four-year term on the IPC Athletes' Council ©Getty Images

The three winter representatives on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes' Council have been chosen following elections held here at Pyeongchang 2018 with French Alpine skier Marie Bochet joined by Nordic skiers Rudolf Klemetti of Finland and Birgit Røkkum Skarstein of Norway.

Elections took place from March 5 to today at the Proud Paralympian space of the athletes' dining hall at the Paralympic Village.

A total of 459 athletes competing here cast votes, marking a turnout of 80.9 per cent.

The elected athletes will now serve a four-year term.

"I want to congratulate Marie, Rudolf and Birgit on their election as winter representatives for the IPC Athletes' Council," Chelsey Gotell, the IPC Athletes' Council chairperson, said.

"I am sure they will hugely contribute to the development of the Paralympic Movement while representing the interests of all Para-athletes in the world across all sports, categories, nations and genres.

"I also want to thank the IPC for giving us as Para-athletes a platform to make our voices heard."

Bochet is now a seven-time Paralympic gold medallist having won three Alpine skiing standing events here at Pyeongchang 2018.

She will be aiming to add to her victories in the downhill, giant slalom and super-G competitions when she competes in the slalom event on Sunday (March 18).

Klemetti and Skarstein have also both competed here in cross-country skiing.

Chelsey Gotell, the IPC Athletes' Council chairperson, said she is sure the three winter representatives will hugely contribute to the development of the Paralympic Movement ©Getty Images
Chelsey Gotell, the IPC Athletes' Council chairperson, said she is sure the three winter representatives will hugely contribute to the development of the Paralympic Movement ©Getty Images

The three winning candidates replace Norwegian ice hockey player Eskil Hagen, Finnish Alpine skier Katja Saarinen and Russia's Mikhail Terentiev, a seven-time Paralympic medallist in cross-country skiing and biathlon and current secretary general of the Russian Paralympic Committee.

Missing out on election were Alpine skiers Zsolt Balogh of Hungary and Claudia Lösch of Austria.

Nordic skiers Yuanyuan Peng of China and Witold Skupień of Poland also failed in their bids.

The IPC Athletes' Council is the collective voice of Paralympic athletes within the IPC and the greater Paralympic Movement.

As the liaison between IPC decision-makers and Paralympic athletes, the Council works to provide effective input into decision-making at all levels of the organisation.

To this end, the Council works to ensure effective athlete representation on all IPC committees and commissions as well as to create other opportunities for athlete representation both within and outside the IPC.

The IPC Electoral Commission is composed of Linda Mastandrea, the IPC Legal and Ethics Committee chairperson, and Mark Copeland, an IPC Legal and Ethics Committee member.

Dutch sitting volleyball player Elvira Stinissen is the vice chairperson of the Athletes' Council.

Members at large include American cyclist Monica Bascio, wheelchair racers Kurt Fearnley of Australia and Hong Suk-man of South Korea, Turkish archer Gizem Girismen, British cyclist Dame Sarah Storey and Singaporean boccia player Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha.

They are joined by International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission representative Hayley Wickenheiser, a Canadian former ice hockey player.