HELPING HANDS ADAM SZRETER LOOKS AT THE FOUNDATION OF THE OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY PROGRAMME AND HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF ITS HIGH PROFILE SUCCESSES AT THE RECENT BEIJING GAMES 48 OLYMPIC REVIEW ^^¡tl^^W "^• •% OLYMPIC REVIEW 49 OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY t would be understandable for an athlete from any of the world's developed nations to have Itaken for granted the facilities they have used or the coaches they have learned from throughout their career But athletes from developing countries know it's a different story. Olympic Solidarity is the body that ensures that athletes with talent, regardless of their financial status, have an even chance of reaching the Olympic Games, winning gold medals and breaking world records. Olympic Solidarity is responsible for administering and managing the National Olympic Committees' share of the revenue from the sale of broadcasting rights to the Olympic Games. Working in particular with the most needy NOCs and their Continental Associations, Olympic Solidarity uses this money to develop assistance programmes. In the four years leading up to the Beijing Olympic Games the total amount allocated was just under "WORKING WITH NOCS AND CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATIONS, SOLIDARITY USES REVENUE FROM BROADCAST RIGHTS TO DEVELOP ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMES. IN THE FOUR YEARS LEADING UP TO THE BEIJING GAMES THE TOTAL AMOUNT ALLOCATED WAS JUST UNDER A QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS AND EVEN MORE WILL BE ON OFFER IN THE RUN UP TO LONDON 2012" a quarter of a billion dollars and a greater amount will be on offer leading up to London 2012. New initiatives to cover Vancouver 2010 and assistance for the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore later next year are also on the agenda. There are 19 programmes for athletes, coaches and NOC management as well as for the promotion ot Olympic values. In addition, the five Continental Associations offer specific programmes to each of their member NOCs. Of the 19 programmes, those for athletes include team sport support grants and subsidies for training young athletes for the Youth Olympic Games and various continental and regional Games. But it is the Olympic "scholarships" that earn most attention. The scholarships give the athletes the opportunity to attend specialist training centres for anything up to two years leading up to a Games. In Beijing, from a total of 1,088 scholarships granted in the run-up to the Games, 591 "scholars" were able to take part in the Beijing Games including 389 men and 202 women representing 151 countries, more than ever before. They won a total of 81 medals including 19 gold, 33 silver and 29 bronze. so OLYMPIC REVIEW OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY Just as pertinently the delegations of five NOCs in of Cuba in the 48kg final, winning with ippon (one However, the example of Daba Modibo Keita Beijing were made up entirely of Olympic full point - the highest score a fighter can achieve) shows well that it is about more than winning Scholarship holders; Djibouti, Lesotho, Palestine, after only 80 seconds. medals. Mali's first worid taekwondo champion was Timor-Leste and Nauru. She also defeated Japan's Ryoko Tani in the not on the podium in Beijing but his story is no less Among the Solidarity success stories in Beijing semi-final, who was aiming to win a record third worthy With over 150 clubs and 500 black belts were three athletes who won their country's first successive Olympic title. Other Solidarity medalists among 15,000 exponents, taekwondo's popularity ever Olympic medal; Tajikistan's Rasul Bokiev in included Abhinav Bindra, winner of the 10m Air has taken on phenomenal proportions in a country judo, Togo's Benjamin Boukpeti in canoeing and Left Rohullah Rifle and the first Indian to win an individual that is Africa's seventh largest but one of the Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpai in taekwondo. Nikpai won Olympic gold medal. Bindra used his scholarship to world's poorest. After spending two years in France, Olympic Solidarity has worked closely with the Afghansistan's train for two years at the USA's national training Keita went to train in the United States. "I've NOC of Afghanistan and their taekwondo athletes first Olympic centre in Colorado Springs. received Olympic Solidarity support since 2005 and since 2004 by placing them in a number of medal in And then there was Usain Bolt. The new 100m it's thanks to this scholarship that I became world training camps across the world. taekwondo and 200m Olympic champion and double world champion and that I qualified for the Olympic Thirteen other athletes won a first Olympic Below Daba record holder has benefited from Olympic Games," he says. medal in a particular sport for their countries, such Modibo Keita Solidarity's assistance since the age of 17 when "It's helped me enormously, and it helps all as the silver won by the Vietnamese Anh Hoang in carries the the Jamaican Olympic Committee asked for African athletes. Given the same conditions there weightlifting or the gold won by Romania's Alina Mali flag during financial assistance to support a young athlete not are many others who could compete with those Dumitru in judo. The 25-year-old, who finished fifth the Opening known then to the general public, but who seemed from more developed regions. For any athlete the four years eariier in Athens, beat Yanet Bermoy Ceremony to have definite potential. Olympic Games is a dream. It's the highest > OLYMPIC REVIEW SI OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY summit in sport. I've already won something just include adequate training facilities, a specialised awarded, Olympic Solidarity endeavours to provide by going to the Olympics, first to represent my coach in the sport or discipline concerned, regular optimum training conditions for each of the athletes country, then the whole of Africa." medical and scientific assistance and check-ups, concerned, and, in close cooperation with the IFs, The IOC's idea of supporting a number of accident and health insurance, full-board it has set up a global network of high-level training National Olympic Committees after their countries accommodation, and financial help towards entry centres for this purpose, from the Worid Cycling gained independence originated in the 1960s. for, and participation in, Olympic qualifying Centre in Switzerland to the Eldoret High An International Olympic Aid Committee (lOAC) competitions. Performance Training Centre in Kenya was created in 1961 and transformed in 1968 The NOC selects candidates for Olympic Olympic Solidarity has reached various into an IOC Commission with the same name. scholarships and forwards their tiles to Olympic agreements with training centres and works closely In 1971 the Commission was merged with a Solidarity. Each file is then analysed in consultation with a number of NOCs and IFs which offer their similar body created by the Permanent General with the International Federations (IFs) concerned, national training centres and supervise the Assembly of National Olympic Committees which comment on the technical merit of each scholarship athletes. The decision as to whether the (predecessor of ANOC) and thus the Olympic scholarship candidate. The final decision on athletes train at home or abroad in approved high- Solidarity Commission was born. whether or not to award a scholarship is made by level training centres is based exclusively on the In 1981, led by then IOC President Juan Olympic Solidarity which then informs the NOG. needs of the athletes, the requirements of their Antonio Samaranch and ANOC President and IOC From the moment the Olympic scholarship is sport, and the wishes of the NOC. member Mario Vazquez Raña, the Commission Following the success of Beijing, proud acquired its current form with the task of satisfying Commission Chairman Mario Vázquez Raña noted: the needs and interests of the NOCs. In 2001 "Olympic Solidarity has played an important part Jacques Rogge decided to strengthen the work of in contributing to the success of these Games by the Commission and reaffirmed his wish to Far right offering to athletes an Olympic scholarship continue the political and administrative Romania's Alina programme which has allowed them to access decentralisation of Olympic Solidarity towards the Dimitru tussles in crucial technical and financial backing and thus NOC Continental Associations. To this end he the final of the placing them on an equal footing with other appointed Mario Vázquez Raña as Commission women's judo athletes from other parts of the worid." Chairman and restructured it. The Commission is Right Anh Hoang And following Usain Bolt's example, Mario now composed mainly of representatives of the won silver for Vázquez Raña and all of us are now entitled to NOCs and the athletes. Vietnam in wonder, who will be the next meteor to rise from Benefits for Olympic scholarship holders weightlifting the firmament of Olympic Solidarity? • MARIO VAZQUEZ RAÑA, CHAIRMAN OF THE IOC'S OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY COMMISSION How would you describe the significance of To sum up Olympic Solidarity's value; It has Olympic Solidarity for the Olympic Movement? played an essential role in the fair and equitable Having had the privilege of being part of the creation distribution of financial resources to NOCs. It has and development of Olympic Solidarity from day one, provided a firm guarantee that NOCs, especially those I feel strongly about the great significance that with fewer resources at their disposal, are able to Olympic Solidarity has had, and will continue to have develop their activities. It has given key support to in the future - for the whole Olympic Movement, efforts to preserve the independence and autonomy but in particular for the National Olympic of the NOCs. It has offered a fundamental option Committees (NOCs). which gives all NOCs access to World and Continental The clear vision of President Juan Antonio Programmes, enabling them better to prepare their Samaranch and the firm backing of his successor.