“The relationship between the athletes, the clubs, federations and the National Olympic Committees (NOC)” is one of the 15 sub-themes that will be discussed and debated at the XIII Olympic Congress in Copenhagen between 3 and 5 October 2009. Maria Colon from Cuba is a true role model in this regard, however she is the exception rather than the rule. Maria is, first of all, an Olympic champion. She beat all her opponents in the javelin competition at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.
“Without the NOC, the trainer and coaches, I would have never achieved such a performance”, she says. And now she wants to give something back. Maria coaches a group of young athletes at her former sports club. Together with the national track and field federation, she works on specific training programmes, so that the youngsters can achieve their goals, while having fun. “The fun factor is key”, she underlines. What’s more, she also supports the National Olympic Committee in its daily work, and has deployed political initiatives to give sport more weight in society. The Copenhagen debate aims to provide new ideas on how to trigger athletes’ interest in keeping in touch with clubs, federations and NOCs.
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