After 9 amazing days of competition in winter sports ranging from alpine skiiing to more high risk events like slopestyle, this year’s Winter Olympics, can be summarized as a good one overall.
Despite an unstable start to the Winter Games, the Sochi Winter Games delivered top notch results when it came to facilities, volunteering efforts, quality display of competitive sports and Olympic spirit.
We were especially excited about two of our former students participating at Sochi 2014 this year: Eric Villalón and Bibian Mentel.
Eric Villalón is a visually impaired, alpine skier from Spain who has won five gold medals, three silvers and a bronze in his career, making him the most successful Paralympian of all time. In this year’s Paralympics, he had the distinct honor of being the first Spanish athlete inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame.
Bibian Mentel is a Dutch snowboarder who not only pioneered and fought for the inclusion of this sport into the Paralympic Games, but also took home its first historic gold ever. Mentel was also awarded the Whang Youn Dai Achievement award which “symbolizes overcoming adversity and putting the spirit of the Games into motion.”
Eric and Bibian both studied the Master in Sports Management at our Barcelona and Amsterdam sites respectively. These athletes are a true testament to what we aim to achieve through our athletes, that life after sports is where the magic begins! We wish them continued success in their careers on and off the slopes.
