The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Allison Wagner as its first Director of Athlete and International Relations.
Wagner was a silver medalist swimmer at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Wagner will oversee Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, and Parapan American athlete engagement efforts that will help USADA serve athletes and best meet their needs, according to a release by the organization. Wagner will also work to ensure effective relationships with key international partners and advocate for anti-doping excellence on a global scale.
“Allison is passionate about athletes’ rights and standing up for them,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “As an Olympian and scholar, through engagement with our athletes and international partners, Allison will elevate our mission to serve athletes and ensure that their rights are protected around the world.”
Wagner has first-hand experience with one of the key reasons that a strong global anti-doping system is so important: She was beaten in major championships by swimmers who were later proven to be users of banned performance-enhancing substances.
Wagner was a research associate at the Sports Equity Lab at Yale University and as a postgraduate student in the Erasmus Mundus Program, a joint master’s degree delivered by an international consortium of six higher education institutions in the European Union.
According to USADA, Wagner is one of six Olympians worldwide to be selected by the International Olympic Committee for this program – a world-first innovation developed by the European Commission as a response to the global challenge to sport integrity. These programs allowed her to lead athlete outreach initiatives and develop expertise in international relations and sport governance, anti-doping policy, abuse and discrimination, athletes’ rights and advocacy, diversity and inclusion, and disability in sport.
During her career, she held the 200 IM world record (SCM) for nearly 15 years, earned seven Southeastern Conference titles, 11 All-American honors, recognition as the SEC Female Swimmer of the Year in 1995 and 1996, and the University of Florida’s Most Valuable Swimmer in 1996. She earned the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Since retirement, Allison Wagner has remained involved in sport, serving as Climate Survey Advisory Group and SafeSport Athlete Advisory Team Member at the U.S. Center for SafeSport and as Team USA Community Ambassador on the Council on Racial and Social Justice.