Malchow Named Athlete Ambassador by USADA
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 7. TOM Malchow, 2000
Olympic champion in the 200 meter fly, headlines the list of ten athlete ambassadors announced Thursday by Terry Madden, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
The other ambassadors include three Olympic medalists:
field athlete John Godina (Cheyenne, Wyo./Los
Angeles), weightlifter Tara Nott (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and speed skater Chris Witty (Park City,
Utah).
The other ambassadors are world champion and Olympic mountain biker Alison Dunlap (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Paralympic medalist Cheri Becerra (Omaha, Neb.), and two other Olympians, biathlete Rachel Steer
(Anchorage, Alaska) and cross-country skier Carl Swenson (Park City, Utah).
In addition, retired Olympians Steve Holman (track, St.
Paul, Minn.) and Jimmy Pedro (judo, Lawrence, Mass.) also work with the anti-doping organization as athlete ambassadors.
"USADA is excited to have the caliber of athlete involved with educating current and future U.S. Olympic athletes. This shows the dedication and desire for U.S. athletes to help deter doping in sport," says Madden.
The USADA Athlete Ambassador program involves current and retired athletes contributing to the USADA educational programs, as well as talking with groups regarding the dangers and effects of doping in sport, and the importance of ethics, fair play and integrity in sport.
Each active athlete signed an agreement with USADA, and is subject to additional out-of-competition
testing as part of the USADA Athlete Ambassador program.
Malchow, 25, earned a gold medal at 2000 Olympic Games in the 200-meter butterfly after capturing a silver medal four years earlier at the Atlanta Olympics. The world's top ranked 200m-butterfly swimmer has captured two world championship medals (1998, bronze and 2001, silver) and is a four-time national champion and past world record holder.
"I am participating in USADA Athlete Ambassador Program, because of my belief in preserving and preventing the Olympic image from being tarnished.
The Olympics is about more than competition. It is about peace and unification of the world for two weeks. During those two weeks we must not let
negative images of performance enhancing drugs or scandals overshadow what the Games really stand for. We must preserve the Olympic dream."