FILE - Michelle Yeoh poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Firebrand' at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2023. Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh has been proposed by the International Olympic Committee to become one of its members. Yeoh won the Academy award for best actress this year for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP): Oscar-winning Michelle Yeoh was proposed on Friday (Sept 8) to be a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Yeoh, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress this year for her performance in "Everything Everywhere All at Once,” was among eight potential new members who will likely be approved by their soon-to-be colleagues at a meeting next month in Mumbai, India.
The IOC currently has 99 invited members, including a selection of royalty, sports officials, former athletes and leaders from politics and industry. Their main role in the Olympic movement is confirming hosts for the Summer Games and Winter Games that were pre-selected by the IOC administration and executive board.
Yeoh also has ties to the United Nations, twice representing her home country Malaysia at its General Assembly, and as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. development program.
Her strongest connection to sports is through her husband, Jean Todt, the former boss of the Ferrari team in Formula One racing and ex-president of the motorsports governing body known by its French acronym FIA.
Also proposed for membership Friday were Olympic medalists Cecilia Tait, a former lawmaker from Peru who won silver in volleyball, and Yael Arad, an Israeli businesswoman and sports commentator who won silver in judo.
Arad was Israel’s first Olympic medalist when she finished second at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Two sports officials proposed, Balázs Fürjes of Hungary and Michael Mronz of Germany, have been involved in preparing hosting bids for the Olympics. Fürjes is a long-time senior sports executive in the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Two recently elected presidents of governing bodies in Olympic sports are also set to become IOC members: Petra Sörling of Sweden from table tennis and Kim Jae-youl of South Korea from the International Skating Union. Also proposed was Tunisian Olympic leader Mehrez Boussayene.
Among members getting an exemption to remain beyond the age limit of 70 is Gerardo Werthein of Argentina, a close ally of IOC president Thomas Bach. Werthein, currently one of 15 members of the Bach-chaired executive board, will be able to retain his IOC membership through 2029 at age 74.- AP
