Panam Sports President Neven Ilic opened the third edition of the Athlete Forum with a pledge to provide an additional $5,000 (£4,070/€4,745) to the Athlete Commissions of each of the 41 member nations of the continental organisation.

Olympic Solidarity makes $10,000 (£8.145/€9,495) available annually to the NOC Athlete Commissions throughout the world, and Panam Sports' additional contributions will bring the available annual total to $15,000 (£12,220/€14,240).

NOC Athlete Commissions can use these funds to help start, structure and activate the Athlete Commissions in their country.

The first session of the three-day forum concluded with a discussion involving Powell, who marked his 40th birthday on November 23 by ending a career that had brought him two world records, a Commonwealth title and Olympic and world relay gold medals.

Powell told the more than 100 athletes in attendance about his greatest triumphs, the secret behind his successes and the dangers of doping including the lessons learned from his surprise positive result and subsequent six-month suspension  in 2014.

Powell tested positive for the banned drug oxilofrone in 2013, and later successfully sued a supplement manufacturer for substituting that substance for another named one without revealing it.

After being given an 18-month sentence by Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, he appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which accepted his claim due to the contamination of a supplement and reduced his ban to six months.

The athletes asked Powell about his career on and off the field of play, touching on topics such as his recent retirement and when he knew to hang up his spikes, how he handled the pressure and expectations of victory, how he recovered from his biggest disappointments, the impact his positive doping result had on his career and how to avoid making the same mistake in their careers.

A panel led by athletes and Panam Sports Athletes Commission President Aliann Pompey discussed the challenges and benefits of starting Athlete Commissions in countries that don’t yet have them.

Panam Sports continues to seek 100-percent inclusion of athletes with a voting seat on the Executive Committee of each of the 41 NOCs of the Americas and the creation of an Athlete Commission to ensure their needs are met.

Associate director of Olympic Solidarity, Olivier Niamkey, discussed the funds that are available to the NOCs of the Americas and their athletes as well as how to apply and access these funds to advance their careers.

Representatives from the International Testing Agency, Caribbean RADO and World Anti-Doping Agency delivered information to the athletes about how to educate themselves about the changing policies of clean sport and how to ensure they always 'Play True'.