USOPC’s Sarah Hirshland Elected Vice President of Panam Sports

Sarah Hirshland, chief executive officer of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, was elected to a vice president’s position within Panam Sports while Neven Ilic was elected to a third term as president and will serve in the role through 2028.

The vote took place at the LXII General Assembly of Panam Sports in Asuncion, Paraguay, on October 2. Asuncion was a finalist to host the 2027 Pan Am Games before losing to Peru in a vote held March of this year.

Ilic won his election by a 37-16 margin over Keith Joseph, the second vice president of Panam Sports and Olympic Committee general secretary of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Veda Bruno Victor (Grenada) and Camilo Perez (Paraguay) were also elected vice presidents.

“I want to thank all those who supported me, for allowing me to finish this project,” Ilic said. “These elections are over and I can say that we are a great group. We will continue working so that the Americas remain a stellar continent.”

In addition to the presidential and vice presidential elections, new members of the Executive Board were also elected. Jimena Saldaña was re-elected secretary general by Ilic and later approved by the General Assembly, and Richard Peterkin continues as treasurer.

Among the newly elected board members are Mario Garcia (Mexico), Tricia Smith (Canada), Damaris Young (Panama), Alfred Emmanuel (Saint Lucia), Dennis Knight (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Roberto Richards (Cuba), Nicole Hoevertsz (Aruba), Mario Moccia (Argentina) and Jorge Delgado (Ecuador).