Ådne Søndrål was appointed to the IOC Athletes Career Programme Steering Committee in 2005 where he served until 2008. He is currently an honorary member of the Steering Committee.
As a former Norwegian speed skater, Ådne was one of the best 1500 m skaters through most of the 1990s, placing 2nd in the 1992 Winter Olympics and 4th in the 1994 Olympics. He finally won Olympic gold with the 1500 m race in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, setting a new world record: 1:47.87. In the 2002 Winter Olympics Ådne was the big favourite, but he dislocated both his shoulders in falls in the last two weeks before the Olympic races, and he was happy to win a bronze medal. This made his collection of Olympic medals complete - one of each colour, in addition to a 4th position.
Ådne started his career as an allround speed skater. From 1996, he specialised on 1000 m and 1500 m, and he placed 2nd on both distances at the first World Single Distance Championships. He also won the 1000 m World Cup this season. In 1999 he tried allround again and he achieved his best result, placing 6th in the World Allround Championships on home ground in Hamar, Norway.
His achievements also include 4 gold and 6 silver medals in the World Single Distance Championships, 26 World Cup wins (7 on the 1000 m and 19 on the 1500 m) and 2 World Cup titles (on the 1500 m in 1999 and 2000), and the Oscar Mathisen Award in 1998. In March 1998 in Calgary, he broke his own 1500 m world record, setting it at 1:46.43. This record stood firm until Jakko Jan Leeuwangh broke it in January 2000.
At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Ådne Søndrål was elected by the athletes to serve on the as an IOC athletes commission for a period of 4 years.