The recently released Olympic Solidarity and NOC Services Annual Report 2022 celebrates the achievements of athletes, as well as the programs and initiatives that Olympic Solidarity (OS) supports around the world. The report notably explains how a total of 429 Olympic scholarships were awarded for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. More than 50% of these 236 scholarship holders qualified for the Games, winning ten medals.
The annual report also presents the launch of the “Paris 2024” Olympic scholarship program for athletes. By the end of 2022, a total of 1,146 individual scholarships had been awarded to athletes from 145 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), representing more than 70% of all NOCs expected to participate in the Games.
Strong solidarity prevails within the Olympic Movement
During 2022, the solidarity of the Olympic Movement was demonstrated in its response to the various crises and conflicts that affected NOCs around the world.
As James Macleod, Director of Relations with the NOCs, Olympic Solidarity and Olympism365 said: “Beyond the Olympic Games, the world has faced difficulties in various regions, which has had a impact on the Olympic Movement.” He added: “Despite the challenges posed by external events, the Olympic community has demonstrated unparalleled solidarity, providing lasting support to athletes and their entourages in conflict-stricken regions.”
Olympic Solidarity has endeavored to provide its support to enable athletes to continue to train in the best possible conditions despite the difficulties encountered and to preserve the autonomy of sport.
In particular, it set up a solidarity fund of 7.5 million USD for the Ukrainian Olympic community and sports movement following the Russian invasion in February 2022. The main objective of this fund was to respond to humanitarian needs urgent needs of high-level athletes, while helping them to continue to participate in international competitions by covering the costs associated with competitions, training camps, travel and accommodation. The continuation of these solidarity efforts aims to ensure that a strong Ukrainian Olympic delegation is able to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
“Everyone has been very supportive, President [du CIO], [Thomas] Bach, and the whole team, in this difficult period,” underlines Sergii Bubka, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and former president of the Ukrainian NOC, in the annual report.
And to conclude: “In the end, when you see the work accomplished, giving hope, solving certain problems, giving athletes the opportunity to participate in competitions, it’s extraordinary.”
Constant support provided to refugee athletes
The IOC established the Refugee Athlete Scholarship Program following the participation of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. With the aim of helping refugee athletes train for the Olympic Games of Paris 2024, 52 athletes from 12 countries, living in 18 host countries, were supported by the refugee athletes support program at the end of 2022.
Additional scholarships have since been awarded, bringing the total number of refugee scholarship holders to 63, hailing from 12 countries in 23 host countries and representing 13 sports. All hope to be selected and be part of the Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Fellows include Nigara Shaheen, an Afghan judoka who was part of the Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic team and whose story is featured in the annual report, as the athlete plans to return for the edition of Paris 2024.
“There is a team, a support system; I belong to this team,” she confides. “I feel like I’m an integral part of it.”
And as the Olympic Solidarity annual report attests, this feeling of belonging – for Nigara Shaheen and thousands of other people like her around the world – is possible thanks to sport.
Promoting peace and social cohesion
Illustrating how participation in sport can help promote peace and social cohesion, the 2022 report also describes a series of initiatives launched by NOCs, with the support of Olympic Solidarity.
James Macleod also highlighted the positive impact that NOCs could have on the lives of thousands of athletes and communities through these initiatives. “As we reflect on 2022, we must recognize the sustained efforts made by the NOCs and all members of the Olympic Movement,” he recalled. He continued: “Your unwavering commitment has made the world a better place through sport, enriching the lives of countless people around the world.”
“Among the initiatives of the NOCs, let us cite Arrows for Peace – a program set up by the NOC of Kenya, which aims to promote peace efforts between warring communities in the Rift Valley, by encouraging young people to use their archery skills to try to compete at the Games Olympics, rather than to commit minor crimes.
“I have a very different idea of sport than I had before,” explains Esther Wakhiya, a participant in the program, in the annual report. “Who could have imagined that arrows could be a sign of peace?”
Click here to read the report in full.
2023-09-12 10:16:27
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