Olympians prepare to mentor young athletes at Buenos Aires 2018
It’s not only young athletes preparing for the next Youth Olympic Games (YOG) set to take place in Buenos Aires this October. Olympians around the globe are gearing up to mentor and support the next generation during the Games.
In addition to the 25 sports stars announced in November, the International Olympic Committee today revealed a further 17 Athlete Role Models (ARMs). These ARMs have been selected by the International Federations of sports featured on the YOG sports programme.
The list includes many well-known names in the world of sport, including Olympic and world champions, such as Argentine Olympic judoka champion, Paula Pareto. Paula, who studied medicine at Buenos Aires University to become a doctor whilst training for two Olympic Games, has been a huge supporter of the YOG in her home country from the outset.
I would like to let them know that you can practise a sport at the highest level. Paula Pareto Argentina - Paula Pareto Argentina
She said: “I aim to help the young elite athletes by sharing my experiences that taught me both the values of sport and life. I would like to let them know that you can practise a sport at the highest level and study at the same time, because the sporting life ends one day for each of us and it is important to know how to continue afterwards.”
In Buenos Aires, the ARMs will be on hand for a minimum of five days and will play a key role in supporting and mentoring the 3,998 young athletes who will be participating in the Games.
The ARMs will be accessible to the athletes in the competition and training venues, in the Youth Olympic Village, and during a series of educational activities and workshops. These activities will focus on areas such as skills development, careers advice, how to lead healthy lifestyles and the Olympic values. They will also be involved in a series of talk shows entitled Chat with Champions – some of which will be broadcast live to fans around the world – and with some sport initiation activities in the parks for local youth.
The main goal behind the programme is to enable the ARMs to share their experiences to boost the learning pathways of the young athletes and to and inspire them to be the best they can be both on and off the field of play.
For more information on the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018, go to: www.buenosaires2018.com.