Egan, a WADA Athlete Council member and chair of the International Biathlon Union Athlete Commission, who competed at the Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Winter Games, commented:

"I am pleased to be joining the Independent Observer team for the 2023 Pan American Games.

"Having members of WADA's Athlete Council on IO teams at major events provides opportunities for the Council to assess all aspects of the anti-doping process and eventually provide feedback regarding what we can do to make this part of an athlete's career a positive experience.

"It is very important to me that a robust anti-doping programme is implemented while still respecting athletes’ rights."

Meanwhile, Peru’s nine-time national long jump champion Paola Mautino and Gabriela Traña, Costa Rica’s flagbearer at the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, will be on WADA's Athlete Engagement team.

The latter team will be on site in the Chilean capital both for the Pan American Games and the Parapan American Games that will run from November 17 to 26, raising awareness about anti-doping issues as part of the WADA mission to promote clean sport.

WADA's IO team, chaired by Argentina’s Juan Lauria, manager of the WADA Latin America office, will collaborate with the various organisations to help strengthen the programme.

The IO team will observe all aspects of the Games' anti-doping programme including test distribution planning and implementation;  recruitment and training of sample collection personnel;  athlete selection, notification and sample collection procedures; transport and chain of custody of samples;  Therapeutic Use Exemption procedures and results management. 

Following the Panamerican Games, the IO team will issue a report and recommendations.

Together, the events will feature more than 8,000 athletes from 41 countries who will compete across 39 sports.

According to WADA, its IO programme "is designed to enhance athlete and public confidence as to the quality, effectiveness, and reliability of anti-doping programmes during major international multisport events."

WADA President Witold Bańka said: "We look forward to running our Athlete Engagement and Independent Observer programmes in Santiago.

"The Independent Observer team will collaborate with our partners on the ground to help strengthen the anti-doping programme during the Panam Games.

"Meanwhile, our Athlete Engagement team will have the important task of engaging with athletes at both the Panam and Parapan Am Games, and their entourages, on a variety of anti-doping topics.

"These Games represent an important opportunity for WADA to continue to champion its global collaborative mission for doping-free sport in South America and raise the game for athletes around the world."

The other IO team members will be Federico Perroni of Italy, also a manager at the  WADA Latin America office, and Maria Fernanda Carraca de Alcantara Frias of Brazil, testing manager, Autoridade Brasileira de Controle de Dopagem (ABCD).

The athlete-led team also includes Macarena Mondaca, manager, education and awareness at Chile’s National Anti-Doping Agency, Stacy Spletzer-Jegen of the United States, WADA senior manager, athlete engagement, and Uruguay’s Edna Serra, office manager, WADA Latin America office.