Dominica’s Thea Lafond-Gadson becomes only Caribbean nominee for World Athletics Commission

Dominica: Olympic gold champion from Dominica, Thea Lafond-Gadson has been named among the ten candidates who will be competing for six available seats on the prestigious World Athletics Commission.  

Lafond-Gadson is reportedly the only athlete from the Caribbean region to have her name on this list of candidates.  

The six seats which are available for election include the Deputy Chair position, which will reportedly include the Deputy Chair position and will also be voted on by the Athletes’ Commission after the elections and the finalization of the membership. 

According to the information, voting for the same is anticipated to be held before and during the upcoming World Athletics Championships which is scheduled to take place in Tokyo from September 8 to 20, 2025. 

It is said that all athletes accredited for the World Championships in Tokyo will have the right to vote during these elections.  

The development was confirmed after an official statement from the World Athletics, the body, which is overseeing the entire process, came out. The statement mentioned that this year’s elections will be introducing an innovation in how voting will be held.  

It was further added that for the first time, athletes can vote either in person or online and in addition to that, the extended voting period strives to give athletes who arrive later or depart earlier with maximum chance to cast their votes.  

Notably, the World Athletics Athletes’ Commission plays an important role in the overall decision-making process of World Athletics as it advises the World Athletics Council from the perspective of an athlete and also acts as a link between athletes and the organisation.  

The official campaign period is scheduled to begin on August 25 which will enable candidates to promote their own campaigns. 

Apart from Dominica’s Thea Lafond, other candidates on the list are Andreas Almgren from Sweden, Mo’ath Alkhawaldeh from Jordan, Lia Apostolovski from Slovenia, Lisanne de Witte from Netherlands, Joan Chelimo from Romania, Ramil Guliyev from Türkiye, Anna Ryzhykova from Ukraine, Hassan Taftian from Iran, and Gia Trevisan from Italy. 

Meanwhile, the elections’ result will be announced on the last day of the World Championships on September 21, 2025.