As you may have seen on my Instagram (@mkoroleva), in June I attended the International Olympic Academy (IOA) in Greece and I want to share my experience because it was a pretty cool and unique opportunity. Yes, I know that it is now OCTOBER and I am extremely late to write this post, but hey, better late than never!

The IOA campus is located right next to the Ancient Olympic Stadium…gave me chills!

Jen, Cole and I before the Opening Ceremony at the IOA.

First off, let me explain what exactly the IOA is. The IOA strives to promote Olympism and its values worldwide by hosting sessions In Olympia, Greece for various groups throughout the year. I attended the International Session for Young Participants, which is open to anyone age 18-35. Every National Olympic Committee (NOC) selects 1-3 representatives to attend the session each year. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) chose three people - myself, Cole McKeel and Jen Gallagher and I was the only Olympic athlete.

I was very excited to be selected since I am so passionate about the Olympic Movement and going to Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics, to learn and meet people from all around the world was right up my alley. During my time in at the IOA I was reminded of three things that I want to share with you. These takeaways were not new to me and there’s not really a theme to them but I think they’re worth mentioning anyway.

**If you are an athlete who is interested in the Olympic Movement, I highly recommend applying for this program. For more information about the IOA, visit its website or reach out to me if you have any questions.

1) LETTING GO OF CONTROL CAN BE QUITE FREEING!

Hanging out with my Canadian friends…we still talk in our group chat every week!

This one is a personal takeaway since I often struggle with releasing control. Our days at the IOA consisted of morning lectures, group discussions, and social activities in the evenings. We also went on several excursions to historically significant places like the Olympic stadium in Athens, Ancient Olympia, and the town of Delphi. There were 156 participants from 86 countries, and including the 15 or so coordinators, it was a large group to organize and transport.

In a lot of ways I have a Type A personality and like to have a schedule so that I know what’s coming up for the day. It definitely took me a few days to adjust to “Greek time” where things usually ran late and many of the sessions didn’t have specific end times. At the beginning it made me a bit anxious to not know exactly what my day would look like and if I would have time to rest, exercise, etc. It made me feel like I wasn’t in control, which is always an uncomfortable feeling to have.

I remember consciously telling myself to relax and just go with the flow. I was there to enjoy the experience, so why stress myself out with wanting to know every little thing? I was able to spend time with some incredible people and once I changed my focus to appreciating this opportunity, the entire adventure of participating in the program became that much most positive.

It taught me to let go of expectations when I don’t have control over a situation and just go along for the ride! That’s definitely something I’ve been reinforcing more in my daily life in the last few months.

2) INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES MAKES YOU A BETTER CITIZEN OF THE WORLD

Australian Olympian Grant Nel and I showing off our tattoos at the site of the Ancient Olympic Games.

I feel like one of the greatest ways to become a wholesome and worldly person is to travel and interact with people who come from a different culture and background than you. At the IOA, 86 countries were represented, which is a whole lot of diversity! We were broken up into ten groups and worked on two projects that we later presented in front of all the participants.

These discussion groups gave us a great opportunity to dive deeper into the main topic of this year’s session, which was “How can Olympic sports play a positive role in international diplomacy?” We talked at length about how the Olympic Movement can help foster friendship, cooperation and acceptance around the world and because everyone came from different backgrounds, there were varying opinions that made for a robust discussion.

In getting to know some of the other participants I learned about the role sport plays in different cultures and some of the challenges these countries face. It was inspiring to see so many young people be so passionate and excited about bringing positive change to their countries. That’s the point of programs like the IOA - to get like-minded people to come together and share ideas.

In environments like this it’s important to stay open-minded and respectful to varying opinions. Our beliefs are built on past experiences and the culture we grow up in, and we need to remember this when we hear an opinion that’s different than our own. The IOA provided a platform for us to have discussions in which people felt comfortable sharing their opinions because everyone was open to hearing different viewpoints of the same topic. In today’s society where disagreement often turns into conflict, it was refreshing to be able to have productive conversations without them turning into disrespectful debates.

Aside from the academic discussions, there were also many social and cultural activities we could partake in like sports, dance and art workshops, and (several…or was it many?) visits to the local bar in Ancient Olympia. It wasn’t all classroom style work - we got to have a lot of fun too!

3) SPORT HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Because of this year’s session topic, the conversation focused around the role of sport in international diplomacy. One of the reasons I am so passionate about the Olympic Movement is because the Olympic Games is the only event in the world that allows athletes from all walks of life to compete on the world stage in the pure spirit of competition. As declared in the Olympic Truce, during the time of the Games there shall be no wars or violence, which plays a big role in promoting peace around the world.

Receiving our diplomas at the end of the program.

Before coming to the IOA, I was pretty opposed to using sport as a means to assert political power. I’ve seen time and time again governments and the media wasting Olympic TV coverage to speak negatively about the host country and using the medal count as a way to exert political superiority instead of focusing on what the Olympics are actually about - the athletes!

Throughout the IOA, we talked about several examples in which sport has historically played a positive role in international relations, like the unification of the two Koreas for the Opening Ceremony in PyeongChang 2018, as well as many other examples. This definitely opened my eyes to the ways sport can positively influence diplomacy. International sporting events provide a platform for all participants and fans to interact with people from other countries and therefore promote friendship and acceptance across cultures. Governments have even used these events as a platform to have political dialogues and for diplomats to connect on a human level while watching a sporting event.

Sport can’t fix all political problems, but it can certainly try.

If anything, it gives people (and especially children) a means to learn valuable life lessons and encourages Excellence, Respect and Friendship (the core values of Olympism). Whether on the grassroots or elite levels, sport is an integral part of our global society, and it’s helping us create a tolerant and violence-free world.

Even though all IOA participants came from different backgrounds, we all agreed on one thing - that we want to use this experience to bring positive change to our communities, but how do you do that? When you think about wanting to “change the world,” it seems daunting and overwhelming. However, making change on a local or community level is already doing something. You don’t need to take on a big global project in order to impact someone’s life in a meaningful way. Small wins can be enough and I’m excited to see what kind of positive change our group of Young Participants will bring!