WADA team participates in 2025 Olympic Council of Asia Athlete Forum

This week, members of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Athlete Engagement department and Athlete Council (AC) were in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the 2025 Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Athlete Forum. The event hosted 85 athlete representatives from across Asia between 2-3 September 2025. 

Under the theme “Empowering Voices, Uniting Asia”, the Forum brought together athlete representatives from each National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in Asia. The event provided an opportunity for athlete representatives to discuss various topics, share knowledge and create connections with their counterparts from around the continent.  

The WADA delegation was comprised of: 

• Gaby Ahrens, Vice-Chair of the WADA Athlete Council and Olympic sport shooter; 
• Emma Terho, WADA Athlete Council member, Chair of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission and Olympian in the sport of ice hockey; 
• Hong Zhang, WADA Athlete Council Member, International Olympic Committee Athlete Committee Member and Olympic gold medalist in short track speedskating; 
• Anna Thorstenson, Athletes’ Anti-Doping Ombuds; and 
• Stacy Spletzer-Jegen, WADA Senior Manager, Athlete Engagement. 

Ms. Ahrens said: “It was a pleasure to be in Kazakhstan for this edition of the Olympic Council of Asia Athlete Forum. These types of gatherings are critical to advancing athlete-led initiatives and providing a platform for athlete leaders from around the world to have their voices heard. We are grateful for being invited to participate by the OCA and are encouraged by the fruitful discussions that took place over the past couple of days.” 

WADA’ Athlete Engagement team and AC worked in collaboration with the OCA’s Anti-Doping Unit and the OCA Athlete Council to deliver an engaging and informative 90-minute session, which included a short presentation on the WADA AC’s objectives, activities and how to stay connected by Ms. Ahrens, who then led the ‘ideathon” break-out session with the OCA. Ms. Thorstenson also presented the role of the Ombuds and the services available to athletes. 

OCA Athlete Commission member and Saudi Arabian Olympic rower, Husein Alireza, said: “The Olympic Council of Asia’s Athlete Commission is pleased that the World Anti-Doping Agency accepted to play a role in this year’s Athlete Forum. The protection of clean and fair sport is of the utmost importance to the OCA Athlete Commission and all of the athlete representatives in attendance. The anti-doping session was both interactive and informative, and we look forward to continued collaboration with WADA and its Athlete Council in the years to come.” 

An engagement booth was set up for the duration of the event to provide participants with an opportunity to interact with the AC. WADA banners and materials were co-branded with the Kazakhstan National Anti-Doping Center (KazNADO), the Central Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO) and OCA logos. The banners were produced in Kazakhstan and left as a legacy for the NADO and RADO to use at future events in the region.