MONTREAL, Canada, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed on Friday the second three-year terms from 2023 to 2025 for its president Witold Banka and vice president Yang Yang.
WADA's Executive Committee and Foundation Board met in Montreal, Canada, the headquarters of the agency, on November 17 and 18 respectively, and discussed key issues including the re-election of its top leadership.
"I would like to thank vice president Yang Yang, whose leadership and wise counsel have been invaluable to me and WADA management since we took office together at the start of 2020," said Banka, the former sprinter-turned Minister of Sport and Tourism of Poland.
"As former athletes, we know first-hand what it is like to navigate the anti-doping system and therefore are sensitive to what's required and very committed to offering the level of protection and support to athletes that they so richly deserve," Banka said.
Yang, a former Olympic short-track speed skating champion, highlighted the education of anti-doping in her speech after being re-elected.
"In recent years, it has been rewarding to see WADA's culture shift towards being athlete centered. And a major element of that has been making education a key pillar of anti-doping," she said, adding that the launch of the Anti-Doping Education and Learning platform (ADEL) is an important milestone.
"Of course, anti-doping education is not just about athletes. Crucially, we must inform and equip their entourage, including their parents, coaches, trainers and doctors," she stressed.
According to her, in many parts of the world, athletes, especially youngsters, rely on their entourage for everything.
"They trust them completely and do as they say. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. When we educate the entourage and make them understand the importance of clean competition, it filters down to the athlete, even those of a very young age," Yang said.
Yang also vowed to set high standards for the entourage of elite athletes.
"I want to see a stricter code of conduct in place for the entourage of elite athletes so that we can hold them to the same high standards that we expect of athletes. That is something I will be following up on during my next term as WADA vice president," she said.
During the two-day meetings, members of WADA's principal governing bodies also updated on the ongoing implementation of WADA's wide-ranging governance reforms, including the new Independent Ethics Board, establishment of the 20-member Athlete Council, and the 10-member National Anti-Doping Organization Expert Advisory Group.
WADA, established in 1999 as an international independent agency to lead a collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport, is composed of a 38-member Foundation Board, which is the agency's highest policy-making body, and a 14-member Executive Committee, to which the Foundation Board delegates the management and running of the agency, including the performance of activities and the administration of assets. ■
