Namibian Gaby Ahrens, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in shooting, has become the first elected Chair of the ANOCA Athletes’ Commission.

Ahrens, who finished third in ball-trap in Delhi in 2010, was elected by more than 100 representatives from all 54 African NOCs at the ANOCA Athletes’ Forum held in Algiers, which unanimously supported the IOC’s stance that athletes from Russia and Belarus be given the opportunity to return to international competition well ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The newly elected Chair, who celebrated her 42nd birthday on the eve of the election, succeeds two-time 10,000m Olympic silver medallist, Kenya’s Paul Tergat, who was appointed acting Chair of the ANOCA Athletes’ Commission in 2021.

Gaby Ahrens is a trap (shooting) specialist. Silver medallist in trap at the 2007 African Championships in Cairo, she competed in her first Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing. She won the bronze medal in women’s trap at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and a gold medal at the 2011 African Championships in Rabat. She was the flag bearer for Namibia at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Gaby won her second continental trophy in trap at the 2015 African Championships in Cairo. She retired from competition sports after her third participation in the Olympic Games, which happened to be the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The new ANOCA Athletes’ Commission Chair is also Vice-Chair of NNOC Namibia and Vice-Chiar of the WADA Athletes’ Council.