USATF candidates score record victories in IAAF elections, from USATF

USATF candidates score record victories in IAAF elections

BEIJING - USA Track & Field candidates on Wednesday turned in a powerful showing in IAAF committee voting, providing a historic sweep and a successful prelude to the upcoming IAAF World Championships.

Five Americans stood for election; all won seats, with three leading their voting categories.

USATF President Stephanie Hightower was elected to IAAF Council as the top vote-getter for one of six women's seats to lead the charge (http://www.usatf.org/News/Hightower-overwhelmingly-elected-to-IAAF-Council.aspx ). In voting for IAAF committee positions, Anne (Timmons) Phillips was elected chair of the IAAF Women's Committee,Maryanne Daniel was the top vote-getter among five candidates for two women's seats on the Race Walking Committee, Bill Roe won election to the Cross Country Committee and David Katz was re-elected to the IAAF Technical Committee.

USATF's board selected the U.S. candidates to stand for IAAF election at the 2014 USATF Annual Meeting in Anaheim. Since December, USATF and its candidates worked on collective and individual campaign strategies, targeting IAAF voters and influencers to inform them of USATF candidate qualifications and vision within the broader scope of USATF's role in international track and field.

"Putting these candidates forward was a strategic decision by our board to be a leader rather than a follower in the IAAF's new era," USATF board chair Steve Miller said, noting that IAAF voting opened with the election of Sebastian Coe as IAAF President. "None of these outcomes was guaranteed. Our election success was the result of a lot of hard work by our candidates, our staff, and by our closest colleagues in the IAAF Congress. Today's elections are simply the start of what will be many months and years of hard work at the IAAF level."

New positions for Phillips, Daniel, Roe; Katz extends service

Elected Wednesday as Women's Committee Chair, Anne Phillips was first elected to the Women's Committee in 2011, was a member of the IAAF Cross Country and Road Running Committee from 1996-2008 and has worked as an ICRO at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and 2005 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She has served on three U.S. international teams and was race director of the 1993 USATF Cross Country Championships. Her USATF committee work includes the USATF Women's Track & Field Executive Committee and International Relations Committee.

Maryanne Daniel was an internationally competitive race walker for more than a decade who has advocated for expanding opportunities for women and smaller federations to find competitive success. In her role as a USA Race Walk judge since 1983, an Area Judge since 2006 and a Level III International Judge since 2010, Daniel in her new IAAF role will work toward ensuring greater consistency in race walk judging and improving judging education.

The president of USATF from 2000-2008, Bill Roe was one of the founders of the NACAC Cross Country Championships in 2005 who has been an international team leader or coach for the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships nine times. He was a U.S. delegate for IAAF Congress in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007.

A member of the Technical Committee since 2003, David Katz has served as Technical Delegate, ICRO, Technical Director, Meet Director, athlete, surveyor and coach. He was Technical Delegate for the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships and has been selected in the same capacity for the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He has been ICRO for three IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and International Road Course Measurer at the 2012 Olympic Games, as well as road course measurer at the 1984 and 1996 Games. He will again be an International Road Course Measurer at the 2016 Olympic Games.

For USATF's statement on the election of Sebastian Coe, visit http://www.usatf.org/News/USATF-Statement-on-the-election-of-Sebastian-Coe-a.aspx

For full IAAF election results, visit www.iaaf.org

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