The Power of Sport

GWANGJU – Sport is a powerful tool. It transcends language barriers and becomes a cultural synthesizer. As soon as an athlete wears the flag of their country they are transformed from an ordinary person to an object of fascination. They also become a magnet for people wanting to take pictures with them.

Being a Universiade athlete in Gwangju is a kind of like being a rock star. People immediately see your country’s flag on your clothes and want a picture with you. It could happen in the middle of the street or after a sport has finished, people love having pictures with athletes. I accidentally became embroiled in this experience after putting on a Team Canada jacket given to me by the Canadian delegation. As I walked down the street from the Athletes’ Village I was accosted by local Koreans, despite my attempts to explain that I wasn’t an athlete I was asked to pose for a photo. Although I’m not sure that they would have wanted a picture with me if I had told them if I was a reporter. Sport has the ability to tear down barriers and the Universiade in Gwangju has done that.

Megan McPhaden (CAN), FISU Young Reporter