China's former Olympic champion Zhang Hong has been appointed chair of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) new Coordination Commission for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea.

Zhang, who won China's first ever speed skating Olympic gold medal at Sochi 2014, was elected onto the IOC Athletes' Commission in 2018, with her latest appointment announced on Thursday.

She is also a member of the Athletes' Entourage Commission and was a member of the Evaluation Commission for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2026.

Zhang will head the six-member Coordination Commission, five of whom are women, to support the organization of the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in Asia.

The IOC says women now account for almost half of the membership of its various commissions, an all-time high in its drive for gender equality.

"Advancing women in leadership roles in sport is truly a team effort," IOC president Thomas Bach said. "There is always more that can be done, and we can make progress only if we work on this together."

Xinhua