I traveled to Singapore for the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, where 3,600 athletes ages 14-17 from 205 countries (larger participation than the UN) participated in all of the Olympic summer sports, lived in an Athlete Village, represented their countries, and learned about other cultures. It was a $500 million gamble by the International Olympic Committee to spread a passion for the Olympic Movement to the youngest generation, and keep it going every four years.
No country really knew what to expect, and the IOC really made it out to be an event about Olympism, spreading peace through sport, giving all young people a chance, and not necessarily high performance.
Well, some countries sent their best athletes (China, Russia), some sent a mix (Team USA) and some barely filled a roster (Germany). China even sent some athletes who competed at the Beijing Olympic Games – which really goes against the mantra the IOC was preaching. But as with most international events, the media managed to turn it into a medals race, and if those are the standards for success of these Games, we didn’t do so well, and China did great.
So the little press that we did get was that our athletes didn’t do so well. But, in the USOC’s mind, it was a hugely successful event. Our athletes did well, especially in what we call “developmental” sports that aren’t as popular in the U.S., but in which we’re working on our junior pipeline in order to have success in the senior ranks 4-8 years down the line. For example, we only won one swimming gold medal, but we won two in judo (no U.S. athlete has ever won an Olympic gold medal in judo). Plus, our athletes had a lot of conflicts on the schedule to deal with, like the U.S. National Gymnastics Championships and the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, so the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games wasn’t a high priority.
My guess is that for Austria in 2012 and Nanjing, China, in 2014, we’ll send a little more talent. But in the meantime, our athletes participated in all of the IOC Education and Culture events, made friends from other countries, and were excellent ambassadors for the U.S. while overseas.
The Youth Olympic Games also had some pretty incredible, moving moments. A girl from Saudi Arabia won the first-ever Olympic-style medal for a woman from her country, in fact, she was the first woman from Saudi Arabia ever allowed by her country even to compete (they haven’t allowed any in the Olympic Games yet). Some boys from Africa couldn’t afford swimsuits, so they swam in their underwear (the IOC pays their plane tickets). The event featured mixed-team relays, where athletes were partnered with others from their region, and in modern pentathlon, the USA and Cuba formed a team. Many female athletes participated in head scarves, and many more were fasting throughout the event for Ramadan. Even many of our U.S. athletes had never been out of the country before.
Though I’ve worked with young athletes before in figure skating, many of those athletes have been competing internationally since they were 11. Our Youth Olympic Games athletes had much less experience going into this event, so they seemed so much younger, wide-eyed, eager and impressed. We all saw that the pressure to represent your country is a lot to take on at that young age, especially if there are targets and expectations on your back, like in basketball. And there were a lot more tears at this event than what I’m used to, just raw emotion of kids who put their heart into what they do and are still learning how to cope with disappointment.
So it was a really moving, neat event to participate in. The U.S. only sent two press officers, myself and one of my coworkers. At the Olympics we primarily serve as liaisons between the media and the athletes, but there weren’t many journalists here, so we acted as one ourselves, writing for our website and Team USA newsletter, and providing facts and quotes for journalists back in the states writing about their hometown athletes. I often covered four sports in one day, speeding between the pool way up north and the triathlon course in East Coast Park. It was fun to be more hands on, but I never got to really immerse myself in one sport or with one group of athletes. I became adept at navigating back and forth between the YOG and public transportation systems!
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