Brisbane 2032 Olympics chief Andrew Liveris has welcomed the appointment of former show jumper Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski as the new chair of the coordination commission for the Games.
The coordination commission plays an important role in overseeing preparations for the Games on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The previous chair, Kirsty Coventry, was elected as the first female head of the Olympic movement in March and will take over from Thomas Bach as IOC President in late June.
Filipina Jaworski was announced as her successor in the coordination commission on Monday.
“I congratulate Mikaela on her elevation … and welcome the opportunity to continue to work closely with her … as our attention shifts from strategy to planning and eventually delivery of our Games,” Brisbane 2032 organising committee president Liveris said in a statement on Tuesday.
Jaworski, who was elected to the IOC executive board in 2020, trained in Australia for two decades during her competitive career, which peaked with a gold and silver at the 2002 Asian Games.
“Mikaela has a deep understanding and history of time in Australia and amongst Australians and has been a positive and supportive voice as part of Brisbane 2032’s coordination commission since its formation,” Liveris added.
Bach, Coventry, and Cojuangco Jaworski will visit Brisbane later this month for the first “in-person” coordination commission inspection of the city since it was awarded the Olympics in 2021.
After three years of political wrangles and several U-turns, the Queensland government announced what it said was the final venue plan for the Games in March.
Despite bid commitments on sustainability in line with Bach’s “New Norm” reforms for host cities, the plan included the building of a new Olympic stadium and a national aquatics centre in an inner city Brisbane park.
–Reuters