Gunilla Lindberg was touched when she walked around Heden, she watched Partille Cup and listened to stories from Olympic Solidarity.

– I’m getting tears in my eyes, said Gunilla.
Ulf Andersson, who has been responsible for the education in the Olympic Solidarity project, talked about the project with Gunilla Lindberg, Carin Nilsson Green and Partille Cup’s President Stefan Albrechtson.

Gunilla Lindberg is the deputy President in the International Olympic Committee, and is described as the world’s seventh most influential person in sport, that isn’t an active performer. Carin Nilsson Green is in the Swedish Olympic Committee and honorable member in the Swedish Handball Federation. They were in Gothenburg together during midmorning Saturday to get an insight in both Partille Cup and Olympic Solidarity.

Stefan Albrechtson talked about on what grounds the eight nations and two hundred players who participated in Olympic Solidarity had been chosen. He said that it was an investment in the future, and there is a huge potential in the nations that has been in town for close to two weeks now.
– We believe that those who are here today will be leaders in their home nations in ten-fifteen years. The idea is that these players will be handball ambassadors, explained Ulf Andersson.

The entire project will be carefully followed up afterwards and many instructors have already been invited to the counties they have been in charge of during the Olympic Solidarity project.
– The International Olympic committee is all the time following how the sport evolves and which nations play they sport. Not just the teams that participate in the Olympic Games but the World Championships and other big games as well, tells Gunilla Lindberg.

She finds the Olympic Solidarity project to be very positive and welcome the cooperation that should continue to at least 2012.
– The participants in the project have got memories for life. When we had a barbeque for them they got to talk about their experiences. Then many stared to cry because the project was soon to be over, said Ulf Andersson.

That the project should be over isn’t true. This is just the beginning, because it is now the handball family start to grow bigger.

Text: Mikael Hjerpe  Photo: Fredrik Aremyr