Sheila Wager was a trend-setter ever since she started officiating at the national level in 1972.

In 1988 she made history when she became the first U.S. female to referee at the Olympics, working the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She also went on to officiate at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

She was the first woman to attain the highest international officials’ rank of Exceptionnelle, and the first to officiate in the World Championships,

Wager was also the first woman to officiate in the European Championships, Pan American Games, U.S. Olympic Festival, Interservice Championships and World Police & Firefighter Games.

Given her first national opportunity by the late Ivan Olson in San Diego, her career continued its rise to the Olympic heights.