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WADA announces new and returning Athlete Council members; publishes membership of Standing Committees and Permanent Special Committees
Yesterday, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Athlete Council (AC) held its first meeting of 2026 in a virtual format. The AC welcomed three new members and welcomed back four other members, all of whom were appointed by the AC Appointment Panel for three-year terms effective 1 January 2026, further to the public call for Group 3(i) candidates launched by WADA in May 2025.
New Group 3 Members
| Sport: | Volleyball |
| Country: | Peru |
I am a former elite volleyball player who represented Peru at the international level, with experience in NCAA Division I, the Peruvian National League, and the French National League. I'm a researcher and hold a Ph.D. in Sports Management and an MBA, and I served as the Sports Resources Manager for the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games. Since 2018, I have been actively involved in anti-doping, working with the Peruvian NADO to strengthen athlete representation and education, bridging elite sport, research, and policy to promote clean sport.
| Sport: | Water Polo |
| Country: | Australia |
Bronwen Knox OLY is a four-time Australian Olympian in water polo and a lawyer, with a professional focus on integrity, athlete education, and advocacy. Her career spans more than a decade of elite international competition, grounded in lived experience at the highest level of sport. She brings practical, athlete-informed expertise in advocacy, leadership, and sports governance.
| Sport: | Squash |
| Country: | Scotland |
As an athlete with years of high-performance experience, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of integrity and fairness in sport. I’m thrilled to be joining the WADA athlete council as a representative for Scotland and Squash, and can’t wait to work with the team to help champion clean sport around the globe.
Re-appointed Group 3 Members
| Sport: | Shooting |
| Country: | Namibia |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Country: | Canada |
| Sport: | Paracanoe |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Sport: | Swimming |
| Country: | Papua New Guinea |
Athlete Council governance
The AC is also pleased to report that it has elected its Chair and Vice-Chair as well as two members to sit on the Foundation Board, including one seat reserved for a para-athlete, as follows:
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1. |
Ryan Pini (Swimming, Papua New Guinea) was re-elected Chair of the AC. In turn, pending the required formal approval from WADA’s Foundation Board (Board), Mr. Pini will represent the AC on WADA’s Executive Committee (ExCo). |
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2. |
Dora Hegyi (Gymnastics, Hungary) was elected Vice-Chair of the AC. In turn, Ms. Hegyi will be Mr. Pini’s designated deputy as ExCo representative. |
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3. |
Gaby Ahrens (Shooting, Namibia) was elected to represent the AC on the Board. |
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4. |
Ivan Ćosić (ParaVolley, Croatia) was elected to represent the AC on the Board. |
After his re-election, Mr. Pini said: “I am truly humbled by the trust the Council has placed in me to continue as Chair for another three years. It is an honor to serve alongside such dedicated athlete representatives, and I am excited to build on the important work we have already accomplished together. As we look ahead, developing a new three-year Action Plan will be a key priority, one that will further strengthen our impact and ensure that athletes’ voices continue to shape a stronger, more athlete-centered anti-doping system.”
The AC also designated two of its members to sit as members of WADA’s Finance & Administration Committee and Health, Medical & Research Committee. Their appointments remain subject to the required formal approval of the ExCo and will be reflected on WADA’s website soon thereafter.
WADA thanks all candidates for their interest in representing the AC within these important governing bodies of the Agency. Congratulations to all the elected members, who will play a key role in representing, supporting, and promoting the voice of athletes on all anti-doping matters.
2026 membership of WADA’s Standing Committees and Permanent Special Committees
To provide a full picture of WADA’s Committees in 2026, the Agency is also pleased to publish a document containing the membership of its three Standing Committees and five Permanent Special Committees, as well as a cumulative diversity analysis of all WADA’s Committees(ii).
WADA’s Standing Committee Chairs were approved by the ExCo at its 11 September 2025 meeting, and the ExCo approved the other member terms at their subsequent meeting on 2 December 2025.
As concerns WADA’s 2026 Permanent Special Committees, there were changes to the composition of the AC (as outlined above) and to the Compliance Review Committee, which, further to the ExCo’s approval at their 2 December 2025 meeting, saw the appointment of Mr. Marc Leu as a new independent member in replacement of Ms. Vered Deshe. The compositions of the Independent Ethics Board (IEB), Nominations Committee and Risk and Audit Committee remain unchanged as of January 2026.
More information on WADA’s Committees can be found under the Standing Committee and Permanent Special Committee sections of WADA’s website as well as within WADA’s Governance Regulations.
Notes:
(i) The Athlete Council is composed of the following three groups of athlete representatives:
Group 1: Five athletes appointed by the International Olympic Committee’s and International Paralympic Committee’s Athlete Commissions;
Group 2: Eight athletes elected by International Federation Athlete Commissions; and
Group 3: Seven other athletes, selected by an appointment panel made up by a majority of athletes, to fill skills and diversity gaps.
(ii) The Standing Committee memberships and the diversity analysis will be updated to reflect the two AC members who have been designated to sit as members of WADA’s Finance & Administration Committee and Health, Medical & Research Committee following the required formal approval of the ExCo.
