Jamaican middle-distance runner, Aisha Praught-Leer has been elected to the World Athletics’ Athletes Commission.

The election, which took place during the ongoing 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, sees the 2018 Commonwealth Games 3000m steeplechase champion among the newly elected members.

Praught-Leer got 559 votes joining New Zealand’s Valerie Adams, who garnered 627 votes, Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, who polled 604 votes and Spain’s Diego Garcia Carrera, who took in 553 votes and Amercian Jasmine Todd polling 546 votes.

Great Britain’s Adam Gemili is also in, getting 542 votes on the commission that is tasked with empowering athlete representation in Olympic Movement decision-making processes as well as supporting athlete development in their sporting and non-sporting careers. Six additional Athletes’ Commission members will be appointed by the World Athletics Council over the course of the next month to bring the number back to its intended 18.

World Athletics is pleased to announce the results of the Athletes' Commission elections, which took place during the #WorldAthleticsChamps Budapest 23.

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 25, 2023

The chair and deputy chair positions will be voted on by the commission once the membership is finalised. All athletes accredited for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 had the right to vote in this year’s elections.

To be eligible for election, athletes needed to have competed in at least one of the past two editions of the World Athletics Championships, or in the most recent Olympic Games, or be a competitor at this year’s World Athletics Championships.

This year’s elections introduced a new method of voting.

For the first time, voting was done electronically, on portable voting devices, rather than via paper ballots. This transition to electronic voting is in line with World Athletics’ commitment to sustainability and was introduced to enable a more efficient polling and counting process.

Since 2019, the hairperson and one other member of the Athletes’ Commission – one woman and one man – have been full voting members of the World Athletics Council.