Athlete well-being and support at heart of discussions at International Athletes’ Forum 2021
Held for the first time in a virtual format on Athlete365, and with invitations extended to all athlete representatives worldwide, the 10th edition of the International Athletes’ Forum (IAF) got underway today. Almost 2,000 athletes and Olympian representatives registered to take part and came together for the two-day event, which also marked the 40th anniversary of the IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC) this year.
Opened by IOC AC Chair Kirsty Coventry, a seven-time Olympic medallist in swimming, and IOC President Thomas Bach, Olympic champion in fencing, a selection of athlete representatives and keynote speakers went on to discuss and examine the two crucial topics of athlete well-being and athlete support on the first day of the biggest IAF to date.
Introducing the IAF, Kirsty Coventry reported on the breakout sessions in the days leading up to the Forum: “There were three main takeaways from the continental breakouts: one, the importance of ACs being effective; two, active engagement and close collaboration with ACs and their respective organisations; and three, that ACs maximise the opportunities to connect and interact with other ACs. I hope we’re going to do that here in the next two days. We have three main objectives for the Forum: to inform, build, and discuss.”
“We are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. But instead of looking to the past, you should look into the future,” said the IOC President. “I invite you to a fruitful discussion, to an open discussion. You will have many opportunities to make your voices heard during this Forum, taking advantage of the tools put at your disposal.”
Driving the conversation on athlete mental health
In recognising and understanding the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the sporting world and the lives of athletes personally and professionally, holistic well-being and mental health was a key focus of the IAF 2021.
IOC AC and Mental Health Working Group member Abhinav Bindra, Olympic Alpine skiing champion Lindsey Vonn, Mali AC Chair Kady Kanouté Tounkara, World Rowing AC Chair Frida Svensson and IOC Medical and Scientific Director Dr Richard Budgett featured on a panel discussion and Q&A, with each passing on their insight and experience into mental health, safeguarding and well-being.
“Telling my story was important to me,” said Lindsey Vonn. “But in doing so, I definitely felt like a lot of people became more comfortable sharing their own stories. Within the sports world at that time, there weren’t really many people talking about depression or mental health in general. But a lot of athletes have since confided in me and spoken to me about it.
“When you’re an athlete, especially a successful athlete, everyone thinks that you have everything going for you and everything should be great all the time. But we have the same mental health struggles that everyone else has, sometimes even more so. I’m happy that the conversation has become more open, and I hope we can continue to destigmatise it.
“It’s really important to have the open conversation, and there should be no stigma to it whatsoever. Everyone should have a mental health professional. As athletes, we have a bigger voice than others, so if we can use that voice to continue the conversation and help [the discussion around mental health] become more normal, the better.”
Abhinav Bindra concluded by remarking that: “The system is guilty of suddenly believing in the equation that a gold medal equals happiness. But really that equation needs to be reversed and happiness has to become the gold medal.”
During the discussions, Bindra, the former shooter who won India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in an individual event, presented the IOC’s new Mental Health in Elite Athletes Toolkit. Developed under the expert guidance of the IOC Mental Health Working Group, the Toolkit will be an invaluable resource for Olympic Movement stakeholders to better support athletes.
More support than ever for athletes
The Mental Health Toolkit is one of a number of programmes that has been developed for athletes over the past year, as they have struggled to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. There were further presentations on the wide-ranging support available to athletes at all levels through the IOC and Athlete365.
Coventry was joined by James Macleod, IOC Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations, and Lana Haddad, IOC Chief Operating Officer, to provide information on and discuss the Olympic funding model and the support programmes available to athletes and NOCs.
This decision followed the confirmation of the supplementary budget of USD 15m needed to extend to 2021 the Olympic Solidarity athlete programmes (Olympic Scholarships for Athletes Tokyo 2020, Team Support Grants and Refugee Athlete Support), which cover 1,600 athletes from 185 NOCs.
Lana Haddad explained: "The Olympic revenue solidarity sharing model ensures that athletes from all teams and corners of the globe, regardless of their sport or background, are able to benefit from the revenue generated through the Olympic Games. Ninety per cent of the revenue is distributed by the IOC across the Olympic Movement, which corresponds to USD 3.4 million per day. That’s why we call it solidarity and we continue to advocate for it."
Building on recent progress
Earlier, Coventry and IOC AC Vice Chair Danka Barteková had initiated proceedings by reflecting on the previous edition of the IAF, held in April 2019, and the subsequent implementation of nine recommendations aimed at empowering athletes at all levels globally. These recommendations placed a particular focus on increasing funding for athletes’ commissions worldwide and improving support for athletes’ well-being and mental health.
In addition to the main plenary sessions, participants were able to access a virtual “Marketplace”, where they could access useful information and materials on various topics. Day two of the IAF will focus on preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, a discussion around Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and what it means for athletes, and a Q&A with President Bach.