A new Athlete Advisory Group has been formed to give athletes a voice at Sport Integrity Australia, who look into doping, abuse and corruption in sport.
Former marathon runner Cassie Fien is hoping giving athletes a voice at Sport Integrity Australia can save others from the same pain she endured after failing a doping test.
Fien has joined a new 12-person Athlete Advisory Group at the body, which was set up in 2020 by the federal government with over-arching powers to clean up Australian sport.
The agency was formed to combat drug use in sport and run broader national integrity programs, probing the likes of match-fixing and allegations of the historic abuse of athletes.
Fien, who was the reserve for the marathon at the Rio Olympics and has represented Australia at three world half-marathon championships, brings a unique perspective after being banned for nine months in 2017.
She used a store-bought supplement that contained a substance which was not listed on the product.
The substance, Higenamine, is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List, resulting in the suspension which left her in despair.
Fien said athletes needed more than a video of a doctor in a suit telling them about supplements.
"An athlete is able to get across to other athletes what Sport Integrity needs to do, in a language that they understand and appreciate," the 36-year-old said.
"I thought there was a really big gap between having the body of Sport Integrity Australia and the language and everything that athletes understand and so I thought it was absolutely brilliant when they came up with this idea of an Athlete Advisory Group as the middle ground.
"If I could help at least one athlete to not have to go through a life-changing event like I went through, I just really needed to be a part of it."
Fien is also calling for tighter regulations of supplement companies so athletes could feel assured they were taking a gold-standard product that wouldn't put them at risk.
Fien joins the likes of water polo Olympian Bronwen Knox, Paralympic swimmer Ellie Cole, former West Coast Eagle Eric Mackenzie and Opals captain Jenna O'Hea in adding an elite athletes' perspective to the organisation.
While her priority is education, others have different focuses when they meet quarterly to help shape policies and strategies.
Sport Integrity Australia CEO David Sharpe said to understand the integrity threats within sports, the agency needed to work in close partnership with everyone who held a piece to the puzzle, including athletes.
He said it was important to ensure the athlete's voice was heard and considered in every aspect of the agency.
"Everything we do at Sport Integrity Australia is athlete-focused; it's about protecting athletes and protecting the integrity of their sport whether that's on the national or international stage.
"It's critical athletes have input into that."
