The British Athletes Commission (BAC) has appointed its Non-Executive Board Director, Donna Fraser, as the new Vice Chair of the organisation.‍

She takes over from Dougie Dryburgh who will continue to serve on the BAC Board as a Non-Executive Director. A former sprinter who competed for Team GB at four Olympic Games from Atlanta to Beijing, Fraser joined the BAC’s Board at the end of 2018.As Vice Chair, she will work closely with the BAC’s Chair, Vicki Aggar, and serve as the Senior Independent Director on the Board.

She will combine this with her full-time role as UK Athletics’ Equality, Diversity and Engagement Lead and Interim Domestic Athletics Operations Manager.The appointment of a new Vice Chair follows the BAC’s recruitment of former British Olympic Association Sport Engagement Manager, Mahdi Choudhury, as Chief Executive in June of this year.

Fraser said: “We have very high ambitions for the BAC and the way it can support elite athletes and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues to help make the organisation an important and highly valued part of the UK’s high performance system.”

Since her retirement from competitive sport in 2009, Fraser has taken on a variety of roles within sport.In addition to her role as UK Athletics’ Equality, Diversity and Engagement Lead, she is also Vice President of its Members Council. Dougie Dryburgh is a former world junior curling champion and European medallist who captained Great Britain’s Olympic Curling Team in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.The other Non-Executive Directors on the BAC’s Board are former Team GB backstroke swimmer, Lizzie Simmonds, Peter Crowther (legal), Dr Rod Jaques (Medical), Lee Murgatroyd (Communications) and Chris Smith (finance).

The BAC was established in 2004 as an independent membership association to represent the interests of high performance athletes in Great Britain. It aims to provide a voice for athletes and works with partners across the high performance system to enhance athlete wellbeing.