Preparing for the future, aiming high: training camps as a development pathway
When specific training opportunities make a true difference for young hopefuls
Laura Bozokí is a teenage biathlete from Hungary. In the lead-up to the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024, she took part in a training camp jointly put on by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and Olympic Solidarity.
A “huge motivation,” she calls it now, adding, “I saw even more diversity and felt even greater challenges in biathlon.”
NOCs were eligible for opportunities through the Olympic Solidarity Youth Athlete Development programmes. One provided up to USD 30,000 for athletes, along with their coaches, to try to qualify for the 2024 YOG in Gangwon.
Through another, Olympic Solidarity worked with the IFs, targeting smaller NOCs. The governing Olympic Sports Federations could access annual grants of up to USD 50,000 to propose projects to the NOCs to provide targeted training and competition that smaller NOCs sometimes struggle to access. The IF engagement meant that these athletes and coaches had access to high-performance crafted activities that met their needs.
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation used its Olympic Solidarity grant to fund three such camps, in Europe, North America and Asia. More than 30 athletes from 12 NOCs went on to compete in Gangwon.
The International Luge Federation held three camps, in Asia, Oceania and Europe. Notably, two athletes from Thailand, Thiraphat Sata and Sunita Chaiyapantho, competed in Gangwon 2024.
The World Curling Federation, building on the legacy of the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016, used Olympic Solidarity funding to organise several camps in the Norwegian city, site of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games.
The IBU proved particularly enthusiastic about such development camps, including a week-long session in Antholz, Italy, that drew 18 male and 16 female athletes along with 12 male and five female coaches from 18 different national federations – with France’s Anais Bescond, a gold medallist in the mixed relay at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, on hand as an Athlete Role Model.
“Youth are the future, the future of our sport,” said IBU Development Director Dagmara Gerasimuk. “This is the obvious answer.”
“You have to be prepared for the future and aim high,” said Gerold Sattlecker, head of the IBU Academy.
As things would play out, nearly two out of three athletes who attended the training activities through IBU, or 63 per cent, went on to compete in Gangwon. To the point about making the sport better: a December 2023 session in Pokljuna, Slovenia, included a race preparation webinar for coaches and a workshop on how values influence decision-making in performance enhancement.
“At home,” said Christian Borch, a coach from Denmark, “we are pretty small communities with few athletes. Imagine then to be able to bring these athletes to an international environment, where [we] meet coaches and athletes from several other countries, hear about their lives, challenges and daily obstacles. It helps put your own situation into perspective. And these experiences form you – not only as athletes, but as a whole person with a broader perspective on life.”
One of the Danish athletes, Leonora Rønhede, like Laura Bozokí from Hungary, went on to compete at cold and windy – but fun – Gangwon 2024, Rønhede 14th in the 10k individual, 19th in the sprint, Bozokí behind but (this is the important part) finishing strong.
Rønhede said, “Both the YOG and IBU have inspired me a lot!”
She added, “My first IBU camp, in Pokljuka, was amazing and I had so much fun. YOG 2024 was even more amazing, and I am very satisfied with my results.”