Q&A sparks interests from Olympians

by EMILY JONES
Special to The Tystenac

Bettering the Olympic Games and its athletes' lives would be a top priority for many of the athletes who visited Tiffin University during the last full week of October.

Tiffin University is in its 35th year of the breakfast panel “Good Morning World.” During the program on October 25th, Matt Mitten began by thanking Bonnie Tiell for her work organizing the events throughout the week.

Mitten had the 10 Olympians and Paralympians in attendance introduce themselves and briefly speak about the sport(s) they competed (or qualified to compete) in and the Olympic(s) they participated in.

When introduced, many spoke of the honor they had felt walking into the opening ceremonies and what it meant to them to have represented their countries.

The hour was full of questions and answers, but two of the questions sparked similar answers among the athletes.

Mitten asked them to imagine they were president of the International Olympic Committee and tell everyone what their top priorities would be in regard to reform.

The issue most of the athletes chose to discuss was post-competition education.

Liston Bochette III said, “Let’s take care of the athletes. When you walk into the stadium, everybody loves you. When you walk out of that stadium, it’s a cold reality. People forget [about you] very quickly.”

He went on to talk about, as others did, the issue of not having healthcare or many types of insurance.

The second answer many of the Olympians agreed upon was to Mitten’s question about their favorite experience during the games.

Most everyone had answers such as “meeting new people” and “experiencing different cultures.”

A few of the athletes relayed what an honor it was to carry their country’s flag during the opening ceremonies.

Acceptance and aid to athletes were common themes in their answers, as they have experienced the games first hand. It is a common belief that the games and its contestants could be improved by having long-term goals and purposes, thus improving the nations they represent.