At the invitation of the Russian Olympic Committee, which is organizing the International Forum of Young Olympians for the fifth time, Olympic champions of various years and other renowned athletes will take part in the event. During the Forum, they will meet with the younger generation to share their experiences of overcoming difficulties on the way to higher sports achievements.
The importance of such a dialogue was emphasized by the Chairman of the ROC Athletes' Commission, Olympic champion in athletics Yuri Borzakovsky.:
— It is very important that the Russian Olympic Committee consistently implements its tasks in working with young athletes. After all, they are the future of our sport. We have been going through unprecedented challenges in recent years, but Russian athletes, as before, train hard and participate in competitions, embodying the true Olympic values of friendship, respect and striving for excellence. They continue to get faster, taller and stronger, with new world records and world Championship wins. I believe that this is also our task – to teach the younger generation about sports motivation.
Vlada Chigireva, a two-time Olympic champion in synchronized swimming, shared her memories of participating in the previous International Forum of Young Olympians.:
— Participation in last year's Forum gave me a lot of emotional energy! It was great to share my thoughts on personal motivation with the guys, and to reflect on the role of sports in our lives together. The young athletes listened to us with genuine interest. When I was that age myself, it was very important for me to communicate with Olympians who had achieved a lot. Back then, our senior colleagues, members of the national synchronized swimming team, acted as role models for us. It's great that now there are other formats of communication between different generations of athletes.
The International Forum of Young Olympians will be held on June 1 and 2. Traditionally, the event starts on the International Children's Day with the participation of boys and girls aged 14-17 years, representing the Russian Federation and foreign countries. To date, the National Olympic Committees of the Republic of Belarus, Armenia, Eswatini, Syria, Gambia and Namibia have already confirmed their participation in the Forum.
