Right to Play leader Johann Olav Koss honored in DC
WASHINGTON -- Teaching one million children each week to play and use sport as a means for education and development is one of the primary functions of Right to Play, the organization led by four-time Olympic gold medalist Johann Olav Koss.
Koss, a former speedskater from Norway, received a Common Ground Award on Thursday for his work with Right to Play, which has 13,500 local volunteer coaches in more than 20 countries.
Common Ground Awards, presented by the non-profit organization Search for Common Ground, honor outstanding accomplishments in conflict resolution, negotiation and peace building. Right to Play uses sport to educate and empower children to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities.
After winning three gold medals at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Koss donated prize money to Olympic Aid, which later became Right to Play. He became active in the organization's mission after visiting Eritrea in 1993 and seeing children affected by drought, poverty and civil war.
"It was incredible for me as an athlete to see the power of sport, reflecting over how it's impacted my life," Koss says.
He's proven to be an inspiration for other athletes, such as American speedskater Joey Cheek, who donated his bonus of $25,000 to Right to Play after winning gold in the 500 meters at the 2006 Torino Olympics. Cheek wanted to help refugee children from the Darfur region of Sudan.
Does Koss see Olympic athletes who are as socially conscious and willing to take a stand?
"There are very few who believe they can have that power or take that stage," Koss says. "I think it comes from an unawareness. Myself I was totally unaware of that possibility as I was an active athlete because you're so focused on your own goals and achievements. One of the ambitions I have is if you can bring that awareness to athletes to see that it can only help them as athletes and as human beings by being more aware of what their incredible contribution can be. I'm sure that many, many more will step up. Getting access to that is very complicated. I believe we will see one or two or three unique individuals in Sochi as we do at every Olympics."
Right to Play has more than 300 athlete ambassadors in a variety of sports. Koss points to fellow Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal and American Julia Mancuso as two athletes who will be in Sochi and have been active in Right to Play. Both are medal contenders in Alpine skiing.
In Sochi, athletes may feel compelled to take a stand on another issue that has received a lot of attention this year. Before their seasons began, U.S. skier Bode Miller and figure skater Ashley Wagner both voiced criticism of Russia's anti-gay legislation. The president of the Sochi organizing committee has said there will be no repercussions against athletes who wear rainbow pins as a symbol to protest the law.
"I believe the community will mobilize a lot in that regard," Koss says. 'I think for sure you will see athletes do something – not that I know anything of it in that regards. You don't want to have any type of discrimination."