World Athletics congratulates Senior Vice-President Ximena Restrepo on her election to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Council. However, Restrepo will continue to represent athletics on the Council after World Athletics President Sebastian Coe completes his two full terms.
Ximena Restrepo Expresses Gratitude and Support
Ximena Restrepo, elected for the 2025-2027 term, thanked her supporters, saying,
“I am incredibly grateful to Sebastian for his unwavering support and encouragement in my bid to become elected to the ASOIF Council.
I would also like to thank those international federations who have shown their trust in me to represent their collective interests related to the Summer Olympic Games and the Olympic movement.”
On the other hand, President Sebastian Coe praised Restrepo’s election and her leadership role. He said,
“I am delighted that Ximena has been deservedly elected onto the ASOIF Council. I am proud that athletics continues to lead by example in successfully putting forward such an accomplished female sports administrator to become one of only two female representatives on the ASOIF Council.”
Coe added, “As an Olympic medallist and first-class sports leader, Ximena knows as well as anyone that athletes are the heart and soul of the Olympic Games – and that without the international federations we have no athletes and without the athletes, we have no Olympic Games.”
Restrepo’s Athletic and Leadership Legacy
Ximena Restrepo made history as one of South America’s most successful sprinters. She won the Olympic bronze medal in the 400 meters at the 1992 Barcelona Games. There, she earned Colombia’s first Olympic athletics medal and became the first Colombian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Her time of 49.64 seconds still stands as the Colombian and South American record.
Moreover, Ximena Restrepo competed in four Olympic Games (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000). She also reached the finals in two World Championships (1991 and 1993).
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Restrepo also won multiple medals at the South American Championships, Pan-American Games, Ibero-American Championships, and South American Games.
Elected to the World Athletics Council in 2019, Ximena Restrepo became the organisation’s first female Senior Vice-President.
She serves on the World Athletics Human Rights Working Group and the Gender Leadership Taskforce, which oversees the organisation’s gender leadership strategy to promote equity and sustainable leadership pathways for women.
Restrepo’s election to the ASOIF Council ensures athletics maintains strong representation in the Olympic movement and highlights the growing role of women in international sports leadership.
