Hannah England has been elected as Chair of the UK Athletics Athletes’ Commission by her fellow members, at the Commission’s inaugural meeting.

England, a 2011 world 1500m silver medallist and 2012 Olympian, will serve as Chair for an initial four years term, and will also become a member of the UK Members Council as a representative of GB & NI athletes.

Formed this year, the purpose of the Commission is to ensure athletes voices are heard by UK Athletics’ Performance Oversight Committee and the UKA Board, the Commission is populated by current and former athletes, 12 in total, from a wide range of athletics disciplines, each of whom have competed for Britain in the last six years.

“It is a real honour to have been elected as chair of the Athletes’ Commission,” said England. “The commission is packed with enthusiasm and drive to ensure the views of our athletes are both heard and understood throughout UK Athletics, and it’s fantastic that British Athletics has formed the commission; this commitment to optimising communication between athletes and our governing body creates a great platform for productive enterprise.”

Also selected were two Vice-Chairs – Ultra Distance runner John Pares and 400m hurdles specialist Richard Yates.

The nine other members are Tom Bosworth, Jamie Bowie, Robert Britton, Abdul Buhari, Dai Greene, Stephen Miller, Isobel Pooley, Goldie Sayers and Vanessa Wallace.

“As a group we have many areas that we are passionate about addressing, and we look forward to sharing these over the next few months. The commission is also keen to have a strong dialogue with the British athletes; we want our agenda to be in line with current matters and give a comprehensive voice to our community,” added England.

UK Athletics President Jason Gardener said: “I’d like to congratulate Hannah on her election to Chair of the Commission; she is an athlete who is extremely experienced, and I’ve no doubts that the knowledge and expertise she will bring as Chair will be invaluable when it comes to the Commission being impactful in the long-term.”