One Year In: Leadership the Athletes Can Feel

A year ago this month, the International Olympic Committee welcomed a new president, and an Olympian rose to lead the movement she has given her life to. I have watched this first year less for its symbolism than for its substance; the question I keep asking is what has actually changed for the athletes. The answer, I am glad to say, is real. 

Consider how the year opened. In February, the Olympic Winter Games arrived in Milano Cortina, the first Games of this presidency. To deliver a Games at all is to hold a thousand moving parts steady at once, under the eyes of the world; to deliver one well, in a first year, is the mark of someone who has learned how to perform when it counts. The athletes shone, the venues held, the world gathered. That is no small thing, and it set the tone for what followed.

Then, a clear sign came this June in Lausanne. For the first time in our history, every Olympian, not only the medalists, will be eligible for direct support: a grant to honor the years of work it takes simply to reach the Games. A fund of $140 million has been set aside for each Olympic cycle, beginning with the athletes of Milano Cortina. This is not prize money; it is recognition, and it reaches the athlete who finished last as surely as the champion who finished first. That is the point.

It sits inside a broader effort called "Fit for the Future," built by listening: to athletes, to smaller nations, to anyone who has felt the Games drifting out of reach. The work turns also to how host cities are chosen and how the Games are delivered, so the dream of hosting stays open to more of the world, not less. Sport belongs to everyone; leadership that keeps proving it is worth celebrating. 

Then, there is a commitment to principles.  Among this year's changes to the Olympic Charter is a renewed commitment to keep sport a neutral meeting ground: a place where nations who may agree on little else can still stand on the same field, under the same rules, and shake hands at the finish. I have believed my whole life that sport belongs to everyone; it is heartening to see that belief written more firmly into the documents that govern us.

None of this is the work of one person, and I suspect she would be the first to say so. A Games is delivered by tens of thousands of hands; a fund is filled by partners and stewarded by staff; a charter is amended by the whole membership. Leadership, at its best, is knowing where to point all of that effort and then having the steadiness to see it through. One year in, the direction looks sound, and the people it is meant to serve, the athletes, sit nearer the center than they did. 

All in all, a very satisfying and strong first year of leadership.  I, for one, couldn't be more pleased with our newest President.

- Anita

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