WADA engages with athletes at 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay

This week, representatives of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) are in Asunción, Paraguay, to promote clean sport during the 2025 Junior Pan American Games (ASU2025). 

WADA’s Athlete Engagement (AE) and Major Event Anti-Doping Legacy (MEAL) Program teams are on site during ASU2025, which will run from 9-23 August. This second edition of the Games features more than 4,200 athletes between the ages of 12 and 22, representing 41 countries and competing across 28 sports. 

WADA Senior Manager, Latin America and Caribbean Office, Juan Lauria said: “We are happy to be in Paraguay to carry out WADA’s Athlete Engagement and MEAL programs at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games. The Athlete Engagement team plays an important role in connecting with the next generation of athletes from across the Americas, while the MEAL program focuses on capacity and capability building and supporting the implementation of the anti-doping program. This event represents an exciting opportunity to engage with local anti-doping stakeholders on clean sport matters and help set a strong foundation that they can build on in the years to come.” 

WADA’s AE program is on site to raise anti-doping awareness of participants and to promote the importance of being ‘One Play True Team’. The athlete-led team is running the program with the support of the National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) of Paraguay. The program also includes a legacy aspect thanks to the banners and promotional resources that will be left behind for the Paraguay NADO to use for future engagement activities. 

The athlete-led team includes:   

• Adriana Escobar (El Salvador), WADA Athlete Council member, Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalist in rowing; 
• Susan Egoavil (Peru), member of the Peruvian Volleyball Federation and former professional volleyball player; 
• Makeba Alcide (Saint Lucia), Chairperson of the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, Caribbean representative on the Commonwealth Games Federation Athlete Advisory Commission and national record holder in the heptathlon and pentathlon; 
• María José Arrúa (Paraguay), national level swimmer and Paraguayan NADO ambassador; 
• Mariam Diaby (Canada), WADA Head of Digital Marketing; and   
• Edna Serra (Uruguay), Office Manager, WADA Latin America and Caribbean Office.  

Ms. Escobar said: “As a member of WADA’s Athlete Council, I am pleased to have the opportunity to connect with young athletes from all over the Americas at the Junior Pan American Games. WADA’s Athlete Engagement program offers athletes an opportunity to engage with other athletes and is a powerful mechanism to promote clean sport. Our objective is to ensure that athletes who stop by are aware of the anti-doping tools and resources available to support them and feel comfortable asking us questions. I am proud to be a member of this team and to be able to share my anti-doping experience and expertise with these young athletes. We are hoping that, together, we are shaping the future generation of clean sport advocates.” 

In emphasizing the importance of engaging with the next generation of athletes, ASU2025 marks the first of several youth games that the Athlete Engagement team will attend over the course of the next year and a half. Athlete-led teams will also be on site for the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain (October 2025), the African Youth Games in Angola (December 2025), and the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar (November 2026). 

As part of its efforts to support Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) globally, Mr. Lauria and WADA Manager, Latin America and Caribbean Office, Federico Perroni, were also on hand to implement the Agency’s legacy initiative, the MEAL Program. The MEAL Program focuses on supporting the development of anti-doping programs by Major Events Organizations and other key stakeholders, while promoting clean sport in regions of the world where anti-doping activity is otherwise limited. 

While in Paraguay, Mr. Perroni and Mr. Emiliano Simonelli, WADA’s Associate Director, Compliance Unit - Compliance, Rules and Standards also held meetings with Paraguay’s National Sport Secretary, Paraguay’s National Olympic Committee, the Paraguay NADO and representatives of the Paraguayan Government and Presidency to discuss the terms of the anti-doping legislation that will be approved in Paraguay in the coming months. Mr. Lauria also represented WADA at the Panam Sports General Assembly on 7 August.