Sir Philip Craven Re-Elected International Paralympic Committee President

Great Britain’s Sir Philip Craven has been re-elected as President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for a fourth successive and final term following Sunday’s elections at the 16th IPC General Assembly in Athens.

Andrew Parsons, who is also the President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, has been elected IPC Vice President.

Sir Craven polled 127 votes in the IPC Governing Board elections, while his only challenger, fellow Briton Alan Dickson, received 20.

He said: “I’m honoured and delighted to be re-elected as the President of the IPC and I’d like to thank my colleagues and peers for their continued and steadfast support.

“I look to the future, to Sochi, Rio, PyeongChang and Tokyo with great excitement and I’m very confident that we can continue to grow and develop while still keeping our inspirational athletes at the core of the Movement. Together, with continued hard work and dedication from all, we can ensure that we progress as an organisation that makes a difference, not just in sport, but also in society”.

Tim Reddish, Chair of the British Paralympic Association, said: “Sir Philip has been a dedicated and passionate advocate of Paralympic sport and under his stewardship we have seen the Paralympic movement develop tremendously. After the success of the London Games, the Paralympic movement now faces possibly the most important period in its history and it is crucial that Sochi is a success and Rio is even better than London 2012. We are delighted that today’s news means Sir Philip will continue to lead the movement through such a vital time and we have every confidence that he will recognise and respond to the challenges ahead and continue to drive the movement forward tirelessly over the next four years.”

Andrew Parsons, who has previously served a four-year term as President of the Americas Paralympic Committee, received 96 votes to finish ahead of America’s Ann Cody with 52 votes. The Brazilian replaces Australia’s Greg Hartung who did not seek re-election.

Parsons said: “I would like to thank the membership for their trust. I now aim to deliver on the expectations I set out in my manifesto. I look forward to working with IPC President Sir Philip Craven over the next four years.

“It’s an exciting moment for Paralympic sport. We not only have to keep the momentum but take advantage of it and work hard to further develop the Movement for the benefit of all our members.