Olympic medal wins encouraging physical activity in hometown youth, UW study finds

KITCHENER -

A study from the University of Waterloo found youth's physical activity increases when Olympic medallists come from their hometown.

“Winning medals of any colour had a positive association with physical activity among youth in the medal winners’ hometowns,” said Luke Potwarka, a professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo, in a release about the study. “This association was particularly prominent among male-identified youth and those living in less densely populated regions of the country.”

The release said the researchers looked at leisure-time physical activity in the hometowns of athletes who won a medal at the London Olympics in 2012. They compared data leading up to the games, from 2009 and 2010, with post-Olympic data from 2013 to 2014.

“Winning medals often creates athletic role models and celebrities, which may help explain trickle-down effects observed in hometown communities,” Potwarka said. “Olympic and Paralympic medal winners may become personally relevant to local youth because of shared connections that exist within hometown areas, such as access to community sports programs, coaches and facilities.”

Potwarka added watching hometown athletes succeed helps connect youth to the sport and show their dreams are attainable.

The study found trends were more prominent among male-identified youth, which Potwarka said shows the need for equity and inclusion in sports.

“Our study’s findings reflect the reality that inspiration can be gendered and inequitable,” he said. “The tendency to trivialize the sporting achievements of female-identified athletes is still very much present in society."

The paper appears in European Sport Management Quarterly.