The IOC Members Election Commission has undergone a reshuffle following the departure of two members ©Getty Images

The Commission which recruits and vets potential new members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has undergone a reshuffle following the departure of two officials.

Sweden's Stefan Holm, the Athens 2004 Olympic high jump champion, and the United States' Olympic ice hockey gold medallist Angela Ruggiero have both left the IOC Members Election Commission.

They have been replaced by former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla and Abhinav Bindra, India's first individual Olympic champion after he won gold in the 10 metres air rifle event at Beijing 2008.

Holm's term as a member of the IOC came to an end after Tokyo 2020, while Ruggiero, a former IOC Athletes' Commission chair and Executive Board member, ceased to be part of the organisation in 2018.

Laura Chinchilla, who served as Costa Rican President from 2010 to 2014, has joined the IOC Members Election Commission ©Getty Images
Laura Chinchilla, who served as Costa Rican President from 2010 to 2014, has joined the IOC Members Election Commission ©Getty Images

Chinchilla and Bindra complete the composition of the Members Election Commission, chaired by Britain's Princess Anne.

The Costa Rican, who served as her country's President from 2010 to 2014, and Bindra are joined on the panel by IOC vice-president Zaiqing Yu, Association of National Olympic Committees head Robin Mitchell and Ethiopia's Dagmawit Berhane.

The Commission is tasked with identifying and recommending members to the IOC Executive Board, before they are put forward to be rubber-stamped by the Session.

It is one of the IOC's most important Commissions.

One of the group's main responsibilities is to "enable the IOC Session to be composed of members with different sets of skills and knowledge while ensuring the necessary balance in terms of gender and geography".