Johnson Greece Blog: The power to change perception
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by Ryan Johnson, USA Wrestling
Note: USA Wrestling’s Director of Event Marketing Ryan Johnson is in Greece for two weeks, participating in the International Olympic Academy and its prestigious International Session for Young Participants. This brings talented young sports leaders from around the world together to learn more about Olympism, the Olympic movement and promoting Olympic ideals in their nations. Ryan is sending regular blog updates.
Wednesday, June 29 – As I reflect back on my time in Greece, an unforgettable two weeks, one of the most powerful impressions I’m left with is the perception many of the participants had of the United States prior to coming to the IOA. Their only understanding of America came from the media, which is often highlighted with stories of racial and religious intolerance, violence, celebrity worship, irresponsible and disproportionate use of natural resources, limited knowledge of the rest of the world, and a pursuit of excessive material possessions.
My fellow American IOA participants and I, just by being ourselves, were able to demonstrate that what gets portrayed in the mainstream media is not necessarily representative of the lives of American citizens, and several of the participants confessed to us that we changed their minds regarding what they think about America. It’s truly an honor to represent Team USA in any setting, and even more special that our presence in this arena had a positive impact on people’s perception about our country.
But how many people in the world don’t have the opportunity to meet Americans and spend two weeks with them? They only have what they see online or on TV to base their opinion, which often times doesn’t cast America in a very positive light. It’s unrealistic to think that we can change the tone of the media outlets, but it does mean that every American can serve as a positive ambassador whenever and wherever they travel. There is a spotlight on the US, and that spotlight can either help or hurt the distance between America and the rest of the world.
The Olympic movement has immense power to change the world through sport. By sending athletes, coaches, and delegates all over the world and often times uniting political enemies in the name of peaceful competition, it creates a platform for cultures to be shared and peaceful dialogue to open.
I am honored to have been selected to represent Team USA at the IOA, and I’m very proud of the impact my companions and I were able to make in how our country is viewed. That impact travels both ways as well, as the people I met from all over the world shaped my opinion of places I’ve never been to and several I had never even heard of. The impact of living alongside people from 75 countries for two weeks is indescribable, and now that I’m sitting at my desk back in Colorado Springs feels like it must have been a dream. In a feeble attempt to summarize my experience, I would say the biggest takeaway is to be generous with yourself; your time, your energy, and your attention. Be willing to engage with people beyond labels and invest in the lives of others.
Friday, June 24 – Keeping wrestling fun and speaking at the Closing Ceremonies
The sunrise hike to the top of Mount Kronion (correction from previous post, “Kronion”, not “Kronos”) was definitely worth the early wake up call. There is an overwhelming amount of camaraderie among the participants here so every activity seems like an adventure. It seems impossible to imagine that we were all strangers only two weeks ago.
The pictures in this post are from the hike, and just to give you an insight into the diversity of this group, here are the countries represented in the pic; Argentina, USA, Paraguay, Swaziland, Bulgaria, Canada, Norway, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Hungary, Mexico, Iran, Germany, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We had another 50 or so folks participate in the morning hike. It is so cool to be surrounded by so many different people but all sharing common activities.
In addition to the lectures, we also spend time doing arts or dance activities, followed by team sports. The theme in the arts class was to create flip books, with the inspiration coming from inclusion in sport or something in reference to Muhammad Ali. Ali has been mentioned on several occasions during the sessions at the IOA, highlighting the truly global presence he had. I did a Muhammad Ali inspired flip book, which is up on my instagram page, @RJ2.0.
Christel, a hurdler from Lebanon and one of the participants here, used some very impressive After Effects skills and compiled all of the arts projects into one video. I’m really hoping she’ll upload the video to youtube so I can share all of the projects in a future blog. I think they turned out really well. As fun as arts class was, by the time we got to team sports in the evening, we were all excited to be outside and play games. My volleyball team had laughable skills at the beginning of the week, but by the end we were playing with lots of chemistry and communication and even won a game!
I had the opportunity to teach a morning exercise session for the group, 30 minutes of light exercise to get the day started. Everyone had a great time learning how to move in a stance and pummel, and then we finished with the shoe tap game which was definitely the highlight of the morning. It was a great reminder to me as to how much fun wrestling can be for newcomers when it’s instructed with the right spirit in mind.
After the morning exercise was over, an unexpected honor came my way when I was asked by the staff of the IOA to speak at the closing ceremonies on behalf of the participants. I’ve never had to speak on behalf of such a diverse group before, over 70 countries represented, but I was excited and ready for the opportunity. I was asked to keep it short, five minutes or less. Aside from some opening remarks and thank yous, below is body and conclusion of my speech:
“We all arrived in Greece with carrying the weight of preconceived notions. Seeing the world through our own lens and, whether it was conscious or not, creating an image in our minds of what different parts of the world were like, and what the people in those places are like. Furthermore, the combination of our life experiences, relationships back home, and media consumption have tricked us into thinking we know what it means to be “normal”, and how to identify those that fit into this box and those that don’t. The truth is, there’s no such thing as normal. Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychologist, said “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” What this means is that people may seem “normal” on the surface, but no one fits neatly into all these little boxes we create in our minds. We have to engage with one another on a human level, invest in someone else’s life story and understand what they’re really made of.
And it’s OK to disagree with people. You’re not going to like everyone, and not everyone is going to like you. It’s easy to gravitate towards like-minded people and surround yourself with people that already fall in line with what you believe, but this tendency to homogenize your environment creates an isolation from the world. Progress is achieved by keeping peaceful lines of communication open with those that oppose your views, and coming to a place of at least mutual understanding of one another’s positions. It’s imperative to remember that the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, and respect, are not just intended to be lived out with the people you like, or the people that are like you, but more importantly with those that are unlike you, that are different from you.
We heard messages from several presenters during our time here about the importance of us taking accountability for the changes we wish to see happen in our homes and communities. And while many believe the International Olympic Committee or the United Nations can and should do more to impact the lives of people around the world, no one on earth can do more on a human interaction level for our local communities than we can. We’re all leaders in our communities, all of us. We’re here BECAUSE we’re leaders. So don’t wait. Don’t wait for permission to make an impact. Hugh Laurie, who plays a doctor on TV so he must be smart, actually has a great quote on readiness. He says, “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” So regardless of where in the world our planes touch down, we are ready.
The beautiful thing about the Olympic values, and the philosophy of building a better world through sport, is that they’re free. You can’t buy them, you can’t download them, you don’t get better access to them with a stronger wifi connection, you can’t just memorize them, you have to live them. In your words and in your actions. In your investment in the lives of the people around you regardless of their story. The Olympic spirit that burns inside all of us isn’t going to be spread solely by big sexy marketing campaigns, famous spokespeople, or guys in fancy suits. The fire spreads on a human level just like the Olympic torch, from one person to another.”
It was incredibly humbling to have been selected for the role, and the message seemed to be well received by the IOA administration. The opinion of my fellow participants means the most to me though, so hearing variations of “Good job” from people from a dozen different countries is a pretty special feeling.
The closing ceremonies concluded our time in Greece and we made our way back to Athens. My fellow Team USA companions and I are heading to Switzerland for a few days, which includes short stops in Zurich, Lausanne, and Geneva. Lausanne will be the highlight though, with visits to the International Olympic Committee headquarters and the United World Wrestling headquarters on the agenda.
Be on the lookout for one final blog regarding the adventures in Switzerland and final reflections on an incredible two weeks in Greece!
Thursday, June 19 - The beach, carrying the torch, and speaking publicly in a second language
After a week of lectures, discussion groups, and artistic pursuits, we took an entire day to visit a beach on the Ionian Sea about 30 minutes from Olympia. A great day out in the sun together. I remember when I was a kid my grandmother commented on how well my younger sister and I played together, we rarely fought and always seemed to have a good time together no matter what we were doing.
In a similar way, this mix of sport minded folks from over 100 countries plays well together. It’s a small enough group that everyone is getting to know each other, everyone is so patient and kind with one another, it’s really cool to see. I managed to impress a few of my friends out with my ability to remember to put sunscreen on a second time during our six hours on the beach, lots of good sunburns going around but fortunately I managed to avoid one this time.
Following the beach, we headed back to the Academy where we held a torch ceremony, which included me getting to carry it for a small portion. So cool!! I remember when I was 11 the Olympic Torch Relay came through Colorado Springs on the back of a bicycle on its way to Atlanta for 1996 Olympic Games and how awestruck I was by the whole ordeal. So now being in Olympia and carrying a torch of my own was a truly remarkable experience.
One of the participants here, Panagiota Tsakiri of Greece, was the flag bearer for Greece at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. She talked about her experience with us and I can’t even image how humbling and inspiring that would be, to walk into an Olympic venue with your country’s flag or carrying the torch. Even though the exercise for us here has no real significance, all that participated will remember it forever.
Today the participants had a chance to present to the group about the various recommendations based on the topics we’ve been discussing in the lectures. I presented for my group today along with Elina Sipinen, a PE teacher from Finland. Presenting is not the brave part of my story. What I’m so impressed with are all the people who spoke English as a second, third, or fourth language with varying degrees of proficiencies for their presentations today. Public speaking can be scary enough as it is for some people, but now imagine giving your next speech in another language! It’s very humbling to have it so easy in that regard here at the Academy, with English being one of the official languages along with French and Greek. They put so much effort into trying to communicate with one another when I don’t even have to think twice about what I’m saying.
Up next we have a sunrise to the top of Mount Kronos, and then in a couple days, I’m leading a morning exercise session by showing wrestling drills and techniques. Until next time, efharisto!
Wednesday, June 15 – Oracle at Delphi, traveling to ancient Olympia ruins and the Palestra
After a quick couple of days in Athens, approximately 170 participants from over 100 countries headed towards the city of Delphi to see the ruins of the Oracle. If you’ve seen the movie 300, this was the place King Leonidas came to ask permission to go to war with the Persians. It is not nearly as dramatic without the cinematic enhancements, but a fascinating experience nonetheless.
Delphi sits on the top of a hillside that overlooks a valley with more mountains on the opposite side of the valley. After a couple hours of exploring the ruins, we climbed back on the bus for another few hours before reaching the grounds of the International Olympic Academy just outside the city of Olympia.
The Academy is a beautiful place, palm trees, dorms, cafeteria, football pitch (that’s what everyone here calls it anyway), a lecture hall, and a library. The accommodations are relatively Spartan (pun intended), but it’s no worse than my freshman year college dorm. The staff informed us to be watchful for scorpions and snakes, neither of which I’ve seen so far so hopefully it stays that way!
The days are filled with lectures and discussion groups, and supplemented with sports games and arts activities. Extremely colorful personalities abound in this place, so there’s no shortage of pick-up games of soccer and Frisbee, dance parties, sing offs, exchanging of cultures in all forms.
After our last lecture on Tuesday many of the participants headed into town to visit Zorba’s, the local pub for drinks and dancing. It’s surprising to me how far reaching and cross cultural music can be, as the music at Zorba’s was predominantly the same stuff we hear on the radio in the States. Sean Paul, Bruno Mars, or Don Omar’s Danza Kuduro will get everyone moving no matter where they come from.
After Zorba’s last night, Wednesday started at 7 a.m. with a boxing class led by Panos, one of the Greek instructors here at the Academy and a former Olympic boxer. Quite a scene, a truly motley crew from all corners of the globe awkwardly throwing punches in the morning air, but it was a great way to start the day.
After breakfast in the cafeteria, we walked as a group to the ruins of ancient Olympia and the birth place of the Olympic Games. Many cool and inspiring pieces of history to observe and walk among, many people cite the spot where the flame is lit or the entrance to the stadium as the highlights of the tour.
For me the pinnacle and most moving experience was standing in the Palaistra. This was the ancient training site for the boxers and the wrestlers of the ancient Olympic Games, so one of the first, if not the first, wrestling rooms in the world. I’ve always found the wrestling rooms to be more inspirational and exciting than the arena. In Stillwater or Iowa City, Gallagher-Iba and Carver-Hawkeye are two of the most storied venues there in the country, but it’s inside the Cowboy and Hawkeye wrestling rooms where all the work gets done. It is the same feeling here in Olympia, the stadium is fantastic but the Palaistra was where they put in the blood, sweat, and tears prior to taking the stage.
Following the tour of the ruins, a short walk into the town of Olympia for some lunch at a street corner café. I have my USA Wrestling water bottle with me at all times, and as will happen anywhere in the world apparently, if you spot another wrestler you’re obligated to exchange a few stories. This time it was a wrestler from California, just outside San Jose, out in Greece on vacation with his family.
Some of the other participants I was with were shocked that a stranger would approach me just by seeing my water bottle, but that’s just the fraternity of wrestlers. Even though this person was also from the U.S., there is a bond between all wrestlers. Any wrestler that has the chance, I strongly encourage a visit to the Palestra to stand on the birthplace of Olympic wrestling!
Up next are some more lectures and artistic studies, and this weekend includes a trip the beach!
Sunday, June 12 - Sightseeing in Athens and getting to know people beyond wrestling
After a long day of travel (2 hr flight from Colorado Springs to Chicago, followed by a 9 hour flight from Chicago to Munich, concluded with a 2 hour flight from Munich to Athens) and a 9 hour time change, my two American colleagues and I enjoyed a buffet dinner at our hotel in Athens and then a walk around town with a random assortment of IOA participants. In addition to myself, Team USA selected Calli Doggett of the USOC and Megan Ritch of USA Triathlon to attend the IOA this year.
I’m sure my own ignorances will be exposed many times over the course of the next few weeks, but I assume that’s one of the main points of the IOA, to learn about people and cultures I’ve never come in contact with before. Prior to coming to the IOA, I would have asserted that I had a fair understanding of the global perspective, having come in contact with athletes from all over the country and the world in the name of wrestling. Just last year when the US hosted the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, over 100 countries participated!
However I am quickly realizing how small the wrestling world is when compared to the size of the Olympic Movement. I’ve met people from Swaziland, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and a number of other countries which I’ve never seen represented at a wrestling event.
Side note, did you know that English is the primary language spoken in Zimbabwe? I had no idea! It is with a British accent but Yara, an equestrian rider from Zimbabwe, blew my mind when she spoke perfect English upon meeting me.
Even many of the IOA participants from traditional wrestling powerhouses like Russia, Turkey, and Iran, are not connected with wrestling in their country. They work in international relations or gymnastics or alpine skiing or any number of other sports.
After breakfast this morning the chaperones piled us onto buses to take us on a tour of Athens. The tour included a 70,000 seat stadium made of marble and used during the 1896 Olympic Games. We were able to walk into the arena and play on the track, take pictures on the podium. A minimum level of English is required so most of the folks here speak enough to get by, so it’s easy to mingle and move from one group of people to the next.
After the stadium we went to the Parthenon and the Acropolis. If you were wondering, the Parthenon is the monument to the Greek goddess Athena, and the Acropolis is the hill upon which it is built. A spectacular 360 degree view of the city can be seen from the Parthenon, no complaints about the Greeks choice in location for the monument. We had a quick tour through the museum of the Acropolis and then mercifully back to the hotel for us jet-lagged folks to get some rest. Opening ceremonies are up next this evening, and then tomorrow we head to Delphi for site seeing and then Olympia, the birth place of the Olympic Games.
Wednesday, June 29 – As I reflect back on my time in Greece, an unforgettable two weeks, one of the most powerful impressions I’m left with is the perception many of the participants had of the United States prior to coming to the IOA. Their only understanding of America came from the media, which is often highlighted with stories of racial and religious intolerance, violence, celebrity worship, irresponsible and disproportionate use of natural resources, limited knowledge of the rest of the world, and a pursuit of excessive material possessions.
My fellow American IOA participants and I, just by being ourselves, were able to demonstrate that what gets portrayed in the mainstream media is not necessarily representative of the lives of American citizens, and several of the participants confessed to us that we changed their minds regarding what they think about America. It’s truly an honor to represent Team USA in any setting, and even more special that our presence in this arena had a positive impact on people’s perception about our country.
But how many people in the world don’t have the opportunity to meet Americans and spend two weeks with them? They only have what they see online or on TV to base their opinion, which often times doesn’t cast America in a very positive light. It’s unrealistic to think that we can change the tone of the media outlets, but it does mean that every American can serve as a positive ambassador whenever and wherever they travel. There is a spotlight on the US, and that spotlight can either help or hurt the distance between America and the rest of the world.
The Olympic movement has immense power to change the world through sport. By sending athletes, coaches, and delegates all over the world and often times uniting political enemies in the name of peaceful competition, it creates a platform for cultures to be shared and peaceful dialogue to open.
I am honored to have been selected to represent Team USA at the IOA, and I’m very proud of the impact my companions and I were able to make in how our country is viewed. That impact travels both ways as well, as the people I met from all over the world shaped my opinion of places I’ve never been to and several I had never even heard of. The impact of living alongside people from 75 countries for two weeks is indescribable, and now that I’m sitting at my desk back in Colorado Springs feels like it must have been a dream. In a feeble attempt to summarize my experience, I would say the biggest takeaway is to be generous with yourself; your time, your energy, and your attention. Be willing to engage with people beyond labels and invest in the lives of others.
Friday, June 24 – Keeping wrestling fun and speaking at the Closing Ceremonies
The sunrise hike to the top of Mount Kronion (correction from previous post, “Kronion”, not “Kronos”) was definitely worth the early wake up call. There is an overwhelming amount of camaraderie among the participants here so every activity seems like an adventure. It seems impossible to imagine that we were all strangers only two weeks ago.
The pictures in this post are from the hike, and just to give you an insight into the diversity of this group, here are the countries represented in the pic; Argentina, USA, Paraguay, Swaziland, Bulgaria, Canada, Norway, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Hungary, Mexico, Iran, Germany, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We had another 50 or so folks participate in the morning hike. It is so cool to be surrounded by so many different people but all sharing common activities.
In addition to the lectures, we also spend time doing arts or dance activities, followed by team sports. The theme in the arts class was to create flip books, with the inspiration coming from inclusion in sport or something in reference to Muhammad Ali. Ali has been mentioned on several occasions during the sessions at the IOA, highlighting the truly global presence he had. I did a Muhammad Ali inspired flip book, which is up on my instagram page, @RJ2.0.
Christel, a hurdler from Lebanon and one of the participants here, used some very impressive After Effects skills and compiled all of the arts projects into one video. I’m really hoping she’ll upload the video to youtube so I can share all of the projects in a future blog. I think they turned out really well. As fun as arts class was, by the time we got to team sports in the evening, we were all excited to be outside and play games. My volleyball team had laughable skills at the beginning of the week, but by the end we were playing with lots of chemistry and communication and even won a game!
I had the opportunity to teach a morning exercise session for the group, 30 minutes of light exercise to get the day started. Everyone had a great time learning how to move in a stance and pummel, and then we finished with the shoe tap game which was definitely the highlight of the morning. It was a great reminder to me as to how much fun wrestling can be for newcomers when it’s instructed with the right spirit in mind.
After the morning exercise was over, an unexpected honor came my way when I was asked by the staff of the IOA to speak at the closing ceremonies on behalf of the participants. I’ve never had to speak on behalf of such a diverse group before, over 70 countries represented, but I was excited and ready for the opportunity. I was asked to keep it short, five minutes or less. Aside from some opening remarks and thank yous, below is body and conclusion of my speech:
“We all arrived in Greece with carrying the weight of preconceived notions. Seeing the world through our own lens and, whether it was conscious or not, creating an image in our minds of what different parts of the world were like, and what the people in those places are like. Furthermore, the combination of our life experiences, relationships back home, and media consumption have tricked us into thinking we know what it means to be “normal”, and how to identify those that fit into this box and those that don’t. The truth is, there’s no such thing as normal. Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychologist, said “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” What this means is that people may seem “normal” on the surface, but no one fits neatly into all these little boxes we create in our minds. We have to engage with one another on a human level, invest in someone else’s life story and understand what they’re really made of.
And it’s OK to disagree with people. You’re not going to like everyone, and not everyone is going to like you. It’s easy to gravitate towards like-minded people and surround yourself with people that already fall in line with what you believe, but this tendency to homogenize your environment creates an isolation from the world. Progress is achieved by keeping peaceful lines of communication open with those that oppose your views, and coming to a place of at least mutual understanding of one another’s positions. It’s imperative to remember that the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, and respect, are not just intended to be lived out with the people you like, or the people that are like you, but more importantly with those that are unlike you, that are different from you.
We heard messages from several presenters during our time here about the importance of us taking accountability for the changes we wish to see happen in our homes and communities. And while many believe the International Olympic Committee or the United Nations can and should do more to impact the lives of people around the world, no one on earth can do more on a human interaction level for our local communities than we can. We’re all leaders in our communities, all of us. We’re here BECAUSE we’re leaders. So don’t wait. Don’t wait for permission to make an impact. Hugh Laurie, who plays a doctor on TV so he must be smart, actually has a great quote on readiness. He says, “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” So regardless of where in the world our planes touch down, we are ready.
The beautiful thing about the Olympic values, and the philosophy of building a better world through sport, is that they’re free. You can’t buy them, you can’t download them, you don’t get better access to them with a stronger wifi connection, you can’t just memorize them, you have to live them. In your words and in your actions. In your investment in the lives of the people around you regardless of their story. The Olympic spirit that burns inside all of us isn’t going to be spread solely by big sexy marketing campaigns, famous spokespeople, or guys in fancy suits. The fire spreads on a human level just like the Olympic torch, from one person to another.”
It was incredibly humbling to have been selected for the role, and the message seemed to be well received by the IOA administration. The opinion of my fellow participants means the most to me though, so hearing variations of “Good job” from people from a dozen different countries is a pretty special feeling.
The closing ceremonies concluded our time in Greece and we made our way back to Athens. My fellow Team USA companions and I are heading to Switzerland for a few days, which includes short stops in Zurich, Lausanne, and Geneva. Lausanne will be the highlight though, with visits to the International Olympic Committee headquarters and the United World Wrestling headquarters on the agenda.
Be on the lookout for one final blog regarding the adventures in Switzerland and final reflections on an incredible two weeks in Greece!
Thursday, June 19 - The beach, carrying the torch, and speaking publicly in a second language
After a week of lectures, discussion groups, and artistic pursuits, we took an entire day to visit a beach on the Ionian Sea about 30 minutes from Olympia. A great day out in the sun together. I remember when I was a kid my grandmother commented on how well my younger sister and I played together, we rarely fought and always seemed to have a good time together no matter what we were doing.
In a similar way, this mix of sport minded folks from over 100 countries plays well together. It’s a small enough group that everyone is getting to know each other, everyone is so patient and kind with one another, it’s really cool to see. I managed to impress a few of my friends out with my ability to remember to put sunscreen on a second time during our six hours on the beach, lots of good sunburns going around but fortunately I managed to avoid one this time.
Following the beach, we headed back to the Academy where we held a torch ceremony, which included me getting to carry it for a small portion. So cool!! I remember when I was 11 the Olympic Torch Relay came through Colorado Springs on the back of a bicycle on its way to Atlanta for 1996 Olympic Games and how awestruck I was by the whole ordeal. So now being in Olympia and carrying a torch of my own was a truly remarkable experience.
One of the participants here, Panagiota Tsakiri of Greece, was the flag bearer for Greece at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. She talked about her experience with us and I can’t even image how humbling and inspiring that would be, to walk into an Olympic venue with your country’s flag or carrying the torch. Even though the exercise for us here has no real significance, all that participated will remember it forever.
Today the participants had a chance to present to the group about the various recommendations based on the topics we’ve been discussing in the lectures. I presented for my group today along with Elina Sipinen, a PE teacher from Finland. Presenting is not the brave part of my story. What I’m so impressed with are all the people who spoke English as a second, third, or fourth language with varying degrees of proficiencies for their presentations today. Public speaking can be scary enough as it is for some people, but now imagine giving your next speech in another language! It’s very humbling to have it so easy in that regard here at the Academy, with English being one of the official languages along with French and Greek. They put so much effort into trying to communicate with one another when I don’t even have to think twice about what I’m saying.
Up next we have a sunrise to the top of Mount Kronos, and then in a couple days, I’m leading a morning exercise session by showing wrestling drills and techniques. Until next time, efharisto!
Wednesday, June 15 – Oracle at Delphi, traveling to ancient Olympia ruins and the Palestra
After a quick couple of days in Athens, approximately 170 participants from over 100 countries headed towards the city of Delphi to see the ruins of the Oracle. If you’ve seen the movie 300, this was the place King Leonidas came to ask permission to go to war with the Persians. It is not nearly as dramatic without the cinematic enhancements, but a fascinating experience nonetheless.
Delphi sits on the top of a hillside that overlooks a valley with more mountains on the opposite side of the valley. After a couple hours of exploring the ruins, we climbed back on the bus for another few hours before reaching the grounds of the International Olympic Academy just outside the city of Olympia.
The Academy is a beautiful place, palm trees, dorms, cafeteria, football pitch (that’s what everyone here calls it anyway), a lecture hall, and a library. The accommodations are relatively Spartan (pun intended), but it’s no worse than my freshman year college dorm. The staff informed us to be watchful for scorpions and snakes, neither of which I’ve seen so far so hopefully it stays that way!
The days are filled with lectures and discussion groups, and supplemented with sports games and arts activities. Extremely colorful personalities abound in this place, so there’s no shortage of pick-up games of soccer and Frisbee, dance parties, sing offs, exchanging of cultures in all forms.
After our last lecture on Tuesday many of the participants headed into town to visit Zorba’s, the local pub for drinks and dancing. It’s surprising to me how far reaching and cross cultural music can be, as the music at Zorba’s was predominantly the same stuff we hear on the radio in the States. Sean Paul, Bruno Mars, or Don Omar’s Danza Kuduro will get everyone moving no matter where they come from.
After Zorba’s last night, Wednesday started at 7 a.m. with a boxing class led by Panos, one of the Greek instructors here at the Academy and a former Olympic boxer. Quite a scene, a truly motley crew from all corners of the globe awkwardly throwing punches in the morning air, but it was a great way to start the day.
After breakfast in the cafeteria, we walked as a group to the ruins of ancient Olympia and the birth place of the Olympic Games. Many cool and inspiring pieces of history to observe and walk among, many people cite the spot where the flame is lit or the entrance to the stadium as the highlights of the tour.
For me the pinnacle and most moving experience was standing in the Palaistra. This was the ancient training site for the boxers and the wrestlers of the ancient Olympic Games, so one of the first, if not the first, wrestling rooms in the world. I’ve always found the wrestling rooms to be more inspirational and exciting than the arena. In Stillwater or Iowa City, Gallagher-Iba and Carver-Hawkeye are two of the most storied venues there in the country, but it’s inside the Cowboy and Hawkeye wrestling rooms where all the work gets done. It is the same feeling here in Olympia, the stadium is fantastic but the Palaistra was where they put in the blood, sweat, and tears prior to taking the stage.
Following the tour of the ruins, a short walk into the town of Olympia for some lunch at a street corner café. I have my USA Wrestling water bottle with me at all times, and as will happen anywhere in the world apparently, if you spot another wrestler you’re obligated to exchange a few stories. This time it was a wrestler from California, just outside San Jose, out in Greece on vacation with his family.
Some of the other participants I was with were shocked that a stranger would approach me just by seeing my water bottle, but that’s just the fraternity of wrestlers. Even though this person was also from the U.S., there is a bond between all wrestlers. Any wrestler that has the chance, I strongly encourage a visit to the Palestra to stand on the birthplace of Olympic wrestling!
Up next are some more lectures and artistic studies, and this weekend includes a trip the beach!
Sunday, June 12 - Sightseeing in Athens and getting to know people beyond wrestling
After a long day of travel (2 hr flight from Colorado Springs to Chicago, followed by a 9 hour flight from Chicago to Munich, concluded with a 2 hour flight from Munich to Athens) and a 9 hour time change, my two American colleagues and I enjoyed a buffet dinner at our hotel in Athens and then a walk around town with a random assortment of IOA participants. In addition to myself, Team USA selected Calli Doggett of the USOC and Megan Ritch of USA Triathlon to attend the IOA this year.
I’m sure my own ignorances will be exposed many times over the course of the next few weeks, but I assume that’s one of the main points of the IOA, to learn about people and cultures I’ve never come in contact with before. Prior to coming to the IOA, I would have asserted that I had a fair understanding of the global perspective, having come in contact with athletes from all over the country and the world in the name of wrestling. Just last year when the US hosted the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, over 100 countries participated!
However I am quickly realizing how small the wrestling world is when compared to the size of the Olympic Movement. I’ve met people from Swaziland, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and a number of other countries which I’ve never seen represented at a wrestling event.
Side note, did you know that English is the primary language spoken in Zimbabwe? I had no idea! It is with a British accent but Yara, an equestrian rider from Zimbabwe, blew my mind when she spoke perfect English upon meeting me.
Even many of the IOA participants from traditional wrestling powerhouses like Russia, Turkey, and Iran, are not connected with wrestling in their country. They work in international relations or gymnastics or alpine skiing or any number of other sports.
After breakfast this morning the chaperones piled us onto buses to take us on a tour of Athens. The tour included a 70,000 seat stadium made of marble and used during the 1896 Olympic Games. We were able to walk into the arena and play on the track, take pictures on the podium. A minimum level of English is required so most of the folks here speak enough to get by, so it’s easy to mingle and move from one group of people to the next.
After the stadium we went to the Parthenon and the Acropolis. If you were wondering, the Parthenon is the monument to the Greek goddess Athena, and the Acropolis is the hill upon which it is built. A spectacular 360 degree view of the city can be seen from the Parthenon, no complaints about the Greeks choice in location for the monument. We had a quick tour through the museum of the Acropolis and then mercifully back to the hotel for us jet-lagged folks to get some rest. Opening ceremonies are up next this evening, and then tomorrow we head to Delphi for site seeing and then Olympia, the birth place of the Olympic Games.
