Two members of our shooting sport community hold great roles within the International Olympic Committee.
The shooting sport community is proudly represented at the IOC Session by Slovakian world champion Danka Hrbekova and three-time Olympian Gaby Ahrens from Namibia.
An an IOC member, Hrbekova (nee Bartekova) is part of a group of key decision makers who are eligible to vote for the next President of the International Olympic Committee.
Hrbekova, who won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the women's skeet, became a world champion in 2023 after finishing with a bronze medal on four occasions prior. She is also the Chair of the IOC Digital Engagement and Marketing Communications Commission.
She became a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission in 2012 and an IOC member from 2013 to 2021 as an athlete representative. She then served as an IOC member from 2022 until the present day. During her time on the IOC Athletes' Commission, she was the Vice-Chair from 2018 to 2021.
Hrbekova has also served as the Vice-President of the Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee since 2021.
Ahrens has long been involved in sports administration, dedicating more time to this following her retirement from the sport, where she won a bronze medal in the women's trap at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Now, she is the Chair of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) Athletes' Commission, being elected in 2023. As the liaison for Africa, she represents the continent on the IOC Athletes' Commission.
Ahrens is also the Vice-President of the Namibia National Olympic Committee and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete Committee.
We thank them for their service to shooting sport and the wider Olympic Movement.
The ISSF team met with Indian shooting great Abhinav Bindra at the IOC Session tooLater, the President and Secretary General met with Abhinav Bindra, considered one of India's greatest Olympians.
Bindra made history in his home country, becoming their first individual Olympic gold medallist and still just one of two athletes to date to win an Olympic title in an individual event. At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, he won the men's 10m air rifle final.
He was also crowned world champion in 2006 and finished his career with four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Bindra received the highest honour by the International Olympic Committee in 2024, the Olympic Order. He was also made an IOC Mental Health Ambassador in October 2024.