In eight months time Therese Alshammar hopes to be Sweden's next IOC member. She is a candidate for replacing Stefan Holm in the Athletes Commission.
"I want to fight for equality in sports and that all children get the chance to find their sport," says Therese Alshammar.
Therese Alshammar is one of 30 candidates for the four vacancies in the IOC's Athletes Commission. It’s the athletes competing during the Tokyo Olympics next year who will vote for the candidates.
"I want to make a difference and I really think the world can be a better place through sports. I have talked a lot with Kirsty Coventry who led the IOC's Athletes Commission and she is a leader who gets things done. I have also seen how Gunilla Lindberg has worked in all the years and what results it has produced," says Therese Alshammar.
The now 42-year-old Swede participated in six Olympic Games. She won three Olympic medals and a total of 72 international championship medals. In November 2016 she finished her swimming career.
"Olympics has changed since I first competed in 1996, and sports are playing an increasingly important role in today's society, for example to counter sedentary and get people moving," says Therese Alshammar.
"Olympic sports have the opportunity to highlight differences while at the same time being generally inclusive and accepting, something that everyone can learn from. I also want to work with the importance of good role models, and work to give all athletes the best possible conditions for their active career and also for continued learning and development after that phase."
For Alshammar herself, sport was central to her own upbringing. She did not feel accepted in school, but always felt good in the swimming pool.
"I was bullied myself when I was young and sports became my safe haven, an environment where I was accepted for what I accomplished and not judged for what I looked like.
"My mom was an Olympian herself and participated in the Munich Games in 1972, so I've grown up with stories about the Olympics. Sport has characterized my entire life and it was through swimming that I found my husband and several of my best friends. Now I want to try to give something back."
Swedish Olympic Committee
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