3 days to go to Olympic Day: Year-Round Celebrations Keep Swedish Olympians Busy

20 | 6 | 2015

Olympians in Sweden have gone above and beyond in their efforts to celebrate Olympic Day by hosting events throughout the year. In 2015 the Swedish Olympic Committee will stage a total of 23 events between February and September in different towns and cities across the country to honour the ideals of Olympism and encourage young people to get active and take up sport.

Since 2011 40 Olympians have taken part in activities and engaged an estimated 54,000 children in Sweden with the aim of introducing young people to new sports and providing them with a path to participation through local clubs while instilling in them the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.

At the most recent event in Malmö last week Danijela Rundqvist, double Olympic Ice Hockey Medallist at Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006, and her fellow Olympians, Shooter Nathalie Larsson, Freestyle Skier Lars Lewén, Speedskater Johan Röjler, Wrestler Jalmar Sjoberg, fellow Ice Hockey stars Frida Nevalainen and Tina Enstrom and Canoeists Tom Krantz and Susanne Gunnarsson, led local children in a weekend of activities involving 25 different sports. Children were introduced to a range of Olympic and non-Olympic sports including handball, sailing, canoeing, BMX, Frisbee, parkour and karate. 

Writing on the Swedish Olympic Day blog following the event Danijela Rundqvist, said:

“We Olympians love to see the children, to see them move and have fun. I love to talk to them and hear them talk about things. The meetings are unbeatable!”

Linda Sandgren from the Swedish Olympic Committee, said:

“Olympic Day is a great way for local clubs to get children engaged in their sports and it’s great to give young people the opportunity to take on new challenges in an Olympic environment with inspiring Olympians on hand to teach them. 

“Olympic Day is filled with inspiration. Our regular events around the country embody the core values of Olympic sport and provide us with a way to reach out and promote Olympism in communities across the country.” 

Other Olympians regularly involved in Sweden’s Olympic Day meets include:

Former Olympic and World Champion Canoeist Markus Oscarsson; Olympic Ice Hockey stars Pernilla Winbergand Elin Holmlöv; Gold Medal winning High Jumper Stefan Holm; Cross Country Skiers Anders Södergren andAnna Olsson; Olympic Bronze Medallist Biathlete Tord Wiksten; Ski Cross Bronze Medallist Anna Holmlund, Sailing Bronze Medallist Rasmus Myhrgren, five-time World Champion Swimmer and Olympic Bronze MedallistJohanna Sjöberg; and Olympic Silver Medal winning Shooter Håkan Dahlby.

For a full list of all Olympic Day events taking place in Sweden and to meet the Olympians involved please visit:http://www.olympicday.se/

The WOA would like to share your inspirational Olympic Day stories, events and pictures on our digital and social platforms so please let us know about any planned Olympic Day activities by contacting info@thewoa.org.