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Yelena Isinbayeva elected to IOC athletes' commission

Yelena Isinbayeva may have been banned from Rio 2016, but she will sit on the IOC athletes' commission for the next eight years.

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Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva has been elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) athletes' commission for an eight-year term.

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Isinbayeva was outspoken in her criticism of the IAAF's decision to ban all Russian track and field athletes from Rio 2016.

The IAAF's ruling came after two independent reports, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), found evidence of state-sponsored doping covered up by Russian authorities.

Along with Isinbayeva, German fencer Britta Heidemann, South Korean table tennis player Ryu Seung-min and Hungarian cwimmer Daniel Gyurta have been elected to the commission by their peers.

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IOC president Thomas Bach said: "The athletes are at the heart of the Olympic Games. Their voice is very important in the IOC.

"My congratulations go to the newly elected members of the IOC athletes' commission. We are looking forward to working closely with them to further advance the Olympic Movement."

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