I'm sitting on a bus heading to Olympia, Greece and silently laughing to myself. There is a guy in front of me who is from Singapore and has a haircut similar to what Ron Artest was sporting in the playoffs. He is playing American pop music through portable speakers (which I need to purchase pair, by the way) for a chica from Paraguay who is eating it up like a fat kid at a birthday party.
Behind me sits a guy from the Maldives who I enjoy chatting with about basketball. He loves the LA Lakers and called me Justin Timberlake last night when he saw me in a linen suit.
I can't get over how random my life is at times. I'm currently on the outskirts of Athens, Greece on a coach bus writing this on my Blackberry and marveling at how sport has significantly shaped my life.
As a kid, sports were central to my existance, but like nearly every person, I assumed at some point I would grow up, get a job, and leave the games for kids of younger generations to play.
Yet somehow, sport has remained a fulcrum point in my life.
I remember always being one of the better athletes growing up - not quite the best, but always a standout. However, where I rose above the frey was through my work ethic and intelligence. And that kept me in the game, so to speak. My willing to bust my ass when others wanted to look cool helped open doors, allowing me to extend my sporting life.
After high school, I figured I might have a chance to play college ball at a Div III school as a walk-on, but I was more concerned about my education and was resigned to simply becoming a full time fan of sport and drunkenly taking part in intramural activities. But during my first few days at Trinity University, I was lucky enough to meet some great folks who talked me into running cross country.
And that ended up being a perfect fit for me. Running is a beautifully elegant, yet simple, straight forward sport that rewards a talented person with limitless drive and a bloodthirst for competing. Fast foward 4 years and I found myself competing at the NCAA Track and Field Championships after, capping off a surprisingly successful collegiate career.
But after a supremely anti-climatic final race, I wasn't quite ready to be done. I was in great shape and just realizing my athletic potential.
Lucky for me, one of my closest buddies and teammates was training to make a run at the Olympics in a sport called modern pentathlon. It just so happened the sport's national governance was based in San Antonio, TX where I attended school.
The year was 2000 and the Olympic team for pentathlon was entering its final few months of training. My buddy invited to the facility to check out some of the workouts. After attending a couple of fencing practices, I was invited to try it out for myself - against the Olympic team. Oddly enough, I found that I was able to hold my own and beat some of the females. And with that, a new door opened...
2 years later I found myself moving to Colorado Springs, heart broken, $20 in my bank account, but full of hope. I made the commitment to giving my all to the sport of modern pentathlon and training full time at the Olympic Training Center. I didn't have residency yet, but I had a group of teammates who were supportive and willing help me make my place (for which I am forever grateful).
Although I was green to the sport, within a few months, I was breaking through and managed to make my first international team and travel to Rio de Janero, Brazil. And I was hooked. It was amazing being able to travel to a foreign land to compete and interact with people of different cultures. But because of sport, we had common ground to come together.
4 years later, I was a seasoned world traveler, gallavanting through Italy, Poland, Hungary, Guatemala, Great Britain, Egypt...
I had been to places I only dreamed of visiting as a kid, bought custom suits from foreign tailors, and made friendships with people from countries I had never even heard of. And all because of sport.
By 2008, I was a retired athlete. I didn't accomplish my dream of making an Olympic team, but I was able to extend my involvement in sport by taking a job working for the US Olympic Committee. And as chance happens to favor me from time to time, I was selected to work at the Beijing Olympic Games for 6 weeks; which was an awesome experience that words can't cleary portray.
And now its 2009 and I am on one of 5 buses heading to visit the ancient birthplace of the Olympics.
Several weeks ago, I was blessed to be selected to represent the USOC by attending the 49th Session of the International Academy for Young Participants. The IOA is an arm of the Olympic Movement that celebrates the ideals of sport and Olympism as expressed through the founder of the modern Games, Pierre de Coubertin.
Every summer, the IOA brings together athletes, staff members from various national organizing committees, students, and people who passionately value the Olympic spirit, the beauty of sport, and the belief that athletics is a unifying platform for cultures and peoples.
Set in Olympia, Greece, we will spend 2 weeks discussing the state of Olympic sport and the health of the Olympic Movement with special attention being paid to the ideals of Olympism.
I arrived about three days ago in Athens, where the group first convenes. Within the first night, me and my 2 co-workers, Lisa Sweet and Carlee Wolfe, met a bevy of people who traveled from all parts of the world to attend the conference. Despite being exhausted from 20 hours, I happily joined a group of kids who wanted check out the city center, get a drink or two, and get to know each other.
It was a bit of Motely Crue with people from Austrailia, Bolivia, Brazil, Greece, and other lands. And we had a blast chilling out and learning about how Olympic sport exits within cultures outside of the US.
The next day we were up early to tour the ancient Acropolis of Athens. Being the nerd that I am, I was thrilled to be able to visit this amazing wonder. And the people Greece are obviously proud of their heritage as they take care of the area and are working at restoring many of the structures on the hill including the Parthenon.
After the tour, we used the rest of the morning to visit the Greek Museum of History and the Olympic Stadium that was original built for the first modern Games in 1896.
After a loooong and much needed nap, the group reconvened for the opening ceremonies of the IOA. The ceremony itself was uneventful as much of the program was spoken in Greek, which made it hard to follow. However, the setting for the ceremony was breathtaking.
We sat on a hill called the Pynx, where we were told was the birthplace of democracy. The hill sat above a beautiful tree lined park facing the Acropolis. And as the sun set, the scene was stunning.
Following the ceremony, we headed to our dinner reception which set on another gorgeous site. This time we looked out upon the Mediteranean, enjoyed wine, and danced the night away. Its always amusing to travel thousands of miles across continents only to dance to a mix tape from 1998. But you know you're in for a good time when over 100 people from all over the world can cram together and heartily sing and dance to The Village People's "YMCA."
Now, as we are trekking through of the beautiful mountains of a land that gave birth western civilization, I am bid all adieu. Time to stop writing and reliving the past to enjoy the moment.
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