The IWF becomes "the first International Federation to achieve such a level of athlete representation" after the three Athletes Commission (AC) representatives were chosen by their own members in landmark elections, said the IWF President Mohamed Jalood.

The 10 members of the AC were themselves elected last month during the IWF World Championships in Bogotá in Colombia.

Osei, who lifts for Ghana, retained the leadership of the IWF Athletes Commission, which was created by appointment in 2020 but had not held elections until last month.

Diaz, the popular Olympic champion from the Philippines, who has 270,000 followers on social media, is vice-chair.

Peters, who competed at the Olympic Games twice before retiring from competition after the Commonwealth Games in 2018, is a serving police officer from the Cook Islands.

All three will have voting rights on the IWF Executive Board, which they are due to officially join at an online meeting next Thursday (January 19)  before their first in-person attendance in Albania in March, before the IWF Youth World Championships.

The new AC will hold its first meeting a day or two after next week’s welcome from the IWF Executive Board to agree on short-term, medium-term and long-term objectives, said Osei, who wants every athlete worldwide to be "proactive and open-minded about our many challenges."

"We need to open the floor to everybody, we want to hear from those seeking help, and I have already received lots of messages from athletes all around the world," said Osei - who describes himself as "a people person" - after the IWF announced its new Executive Board members today.

The immediate priority, in his view, is establishing the athlete scholarship programme - strongly supported by Diaz - that will give help to those who most need it.

"We want to make sure the IWF carries through on its promise and implements this,"said Osei, a dual Ghana-Britain national who works as a weightlifting, personal fitness, and strength and conditioning coach in Doha in Qatar.

The athletes will also play a key role as the IWF draws up a new constitution, which it hopes will be adopted by Congress in September this year.

"We are looking forward to being involved in that and have already been welcomed by the Constitution working group," said Osei, currently recovering from an arm injury sustained at the World Championships in Colombia.

"There is so much to discuss, such as doping and how to avoid future cases, development issues in certain parts of the world, supporting athletes who are trying to qualify for Paris 2024… but with the calibre of athletes we have on the AC I’m sure we can make good progress."

The fact that two of the three new Executive Board members are from Africa and Oceania was a positive, Osei said.

"It’s good to have such a diverse group on the Board… it will help us to focus on growth and development of weightlifting in these areas," he said.