Olympic Champion Pernille Blume Joins World Aquatics Bureau
Pernille Blume, the Olympic champion in the women’s 50 freestyle at the 2016 Olympics, was appointed to the World Aquatics Bureau on Monday.
Blume, 30, retired in 2022. She reached the pinnacle of her career in winning the 50 free in Rio in 2016 for Denmark, then remained on the global stage for most of the next half-decade. She is a three-time Olympian who now works in the health and wellness field, as the creator of the Align by Blume online platform.
Blume announced her appointment on social media.
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Blume followed her gold in Rio with bronze in Tokyo in the 50 free. She had led Denmark to a bronze medal in the 400 medley relay in Rio. She also won three gold medals in relays at the short-course World Championships and bronze in the 100 free at Long-Course Worlds in Budapest in 2017.
Blume is one of 39 members of the Bureau, which includes 22 continental representatives, 16 world-at-large members and the chair of the Athletes’ Committee, which is currently Alia Atkinson. Blume has a term of four years, and the next Bureau will be voted on in 2025.
Blume’s appointment allows World Aquatics to get closer to a stated goal of gender parity in the Bureau. Blume is one of 15 female members, getting World Aquatics to 39 percent.
“This is an important step. Of course, there is more work to do; our target must be a 50-50 split,” World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam said in a press release. “Today brings us closer to this goal.”