The Olympic Day brought joy to Estonian kids

Hundreds of children participated in the Olympic Day in Jõhvi, Estonia. The children could try different sports, participate in competitions and meet Olympic gold medallist, fencer Katrina Lehis.

On Olympic Day, everyone interested could try athletics, boxing, curling, fencing, taekwondo, skateboarding, play handball, badminton, and volleyball, learn about Paralympics, jump on trampolines, and pass the obstacle course.

The smallest, 2-6-year-old kids participated in the kids’ run and received a special medal from Tokyo 2020 gold and bronze medallist Katrina Lehis. Lehis was also the fencing instructor alongside her coach, Nikolai Novosjolov, 2010 and 2013 world champion in fencing.

“It was cool to see so many bright-eyed girls and boys running diligently. I hope that they will continue sporting,“ Lehis said.

According to Jaanika Eilat, leader of the Olympic Day project, communities play a big role in the Estonian Olympic Committee’s event. “It was very nice to introduce various sports to kids. We saw how much joy they felt from different sports and we believe that they will remember the positive emotion they received from the Olympic Day for a long time,” Eilat said.

Olympic Day is developing into much more than a run or a sports event. Based on the three pillars “move”, “learn” and “discover”, National Olympic Committees are deploying sports, cultural and educational activities that address everybody – regardless of age, gender, social background, or sporting ability. The Olympic Day was meant to celebrate the beginning of the contemporary Olympic movement in 1894, when Pierre de Coubertin’s proposal to revive the tradition of the Olympic Games was unanimously approved in Sorbonne, Paris, and the International Olympic Committee was established.