U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun has a hard time imagining all the changes that are sure to come in sport over the next 30 years. But he's certain of one thing: The Olympics will only grow in relevance.
In fact, if you want to picture the Olympic Games of 2042, imagine London, only colder, since those Games 30 years from now will be a Winter Olympics. From the emergence of women on every nation's team to the dominance of U.S. female athletes to the stated goal of creating role models to inspire a generation of children around the world, what happened in London sets the stage for many other Olympic Games to come.
"The London Games probably amplified more than any other what's different about the Olympics, that it's a values-based movement," he says.
"If you look at what happened in Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabia, where they had women competing for the first time, I think we've got tangible evidence coming out of these Games that the Olympic Games are making a difference not only in sport but in a broader context. As I look ahead, I think the Olympic Games are only going to increase in their relevance."
Blackmun, 53, points to what he calls "a culture of openness and inclusion" at the Games that he believes can provide an example to the world, not just in sports. "The Oscar Pistorius story is a great example of that," he says, referring to the "Blade Runner" who competed despite wearing prosthetics after having his legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old.
He also expects the rest of the world to continue pushing the USA to stay on its toes as the dominant international sports power.
"It's a sign that sport is alive and well," Blackmun says. "So far, we've been able to maintain our level of performance at the Games, but there's no question that we're going to need to continue the focus if we're going to continue to maintain our place on the medal stand."
That's especially true for the USA's female athletes, who won more than 60% of the nation's gold medals in London. "Because of Title IX, we had a huge head start vis-a-vis (other nations') women's teams over the past 30 years," he says. "It's going to be important for us to continue to focus on our women's program if we want to expect women to continue to have the opportunity to mount the podium, because other countries are catching up."
One need look no further than soccer, where Japan won the Women's World Cup in 2011 and pushed the United States to the final minute before losing the gold-medal game to the Americans 2-1.
Blackmun is concerned that over the next few decades, a top-down model for worldwide sport might not be enough to prevent the nation's plunge into the depths of childhood obesity and other health problems.
"What is the impact of the social changes (regarding a more sedentary population) that we're seeing now among our young people?" he says. "If we have a lot fewer kids participating in sport, what is that going to mean for sport at an elite level? If we have 100,000 kids playing soccer instead of millions of kids playing soccer, what is that going to mean?
"I think getting our arms around what Mrs. Obama is so focused on right now, which is how do we make sure our kids stay active and play and have fun, is going to be a key question for us as we look ahead."
Blackmun says the USOC's role in keeping children active is to push the 47 national governing bodies of sports under the USOC umbrella to act.
"We at the USOC are really focused on high performance," he says. "So making sure that our National Governing Bodies are focused on the grass roots and membership piece of their business is important."
By Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports
Source: www.usatoday.com