Q&A with Professor Jeeyoon Kim — Syracuse University News

Health & Society

artistic representation of the Olympic catwalk in Paris

Champions Park Catwalk (Source: @Paris2024)

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are almost here. The glory for the world-class athletes and the excitement for the spectators will make for an immersive Games, crucial to the success of these Olympic Games and, more importantly, to the longevity of the Games.

This lasting legacy is considered a high priority by the host countries and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

person holding the Olympic torch

Jeeyoon (Jamie) Kim

Jeeyoon (Jamie) Kim, an associate professor of sport management in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, studies the legacy of Olympic sport, particularly how young people engage with the Games as participants and spectators.

Kim says that now is an important time for the IOC to promote the Olympics to young people, as the average age of viewers is in their 50s. This includes adding new sports, such as the newest event at the Olympics: breakdancing.

For the 2018 Games, Kim received funding from the IOC’s Olympic Studies Centre to better understand the impact of the Games and develop strategies to attract young people, for her project “Building a Sport Participation Legacy Through the 2018 Winter Olympic Games”. Kim found that “social influence” from friends and family played the biggest role in attracting young people in Asia to the Games.

Kim, who worked for the Korean Olympic Committee and helped with the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, will recently present her research on the Youth Olympic Games at the International Sport Business Symposium in Paris in August.

In this interview with SU News, Kim talks about her research and how she can involve young people in the Olympic Games.

  • 01

    What research on the Youth Olympic Games will you be presenting at the 11th International Sport Business Symposium in Paris?

    It is an abstract titled “Exploring the Legacy Governance Process of YOG (Youth Olympics Games) Organizing Committees for Building a Sustainable YOG Legacy.” It is an interview-based case study (e.g. 2016 Lillehammer, 2018 Buenos Aires, 2024 Gangwon) that examines how Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committees manage the legacy of their Youth Olympic Games during the bidding, planning, implementation, and post-Games phases.

  • 02

    What impact do the Youth Olympic Games have on participation in Olympic sports?

    The hope for participation in Olympic sports is based on the ‘trickle-down effect’ (i.e. seeing Olympians compete will inspire youth to participate in sports). For the Youth Olympics, the event can also be a stepping stone for younger athletes to compete on the international stage and grow into Olympians.

    In addition, the Youth Olympic Games offer many opportunities for sports at a local level, such as sports camps and cooperation with local schools. In this way, the youth are stimulated to learn more about Olympic sports.

  • 03

    How important is it to get and keep youth interested in the Olympic Games/Olympic sports, with a view to the sustainability of the Games?

    three Olympic medals

    Medals of the Paris 2024 Games (Source: @Paris2024)

    The lack of exposure to youth is a critical issue. The median age of the media audience in the North American market is in the mid-50s. The IOC is very aware of the situation and has made great efforts to address the issue (e.g. adding new sports like breaking, changing event formats to make them more fun, integrating esports).

    This is a crucial period for the IOC and the longevity of the Games, but also offers great opportunities as upcoming Games will be held in traditionally strong sports markets where there is still plenty of room for growth in interest in the Olympic Games (Paris 2024, Milan-Cortina 2026, Los Angeles 2028).

  • 04

    Could the inclusion of breakdancing or other new and emerging “sports” be seen as a way to be more inclusive and draw young people’s attention to the Games?

    Paris 2024 will be the first Olympic Games to include breaking in the official program. We will have to wait and see how the event turns out. But so far, looking at the Olympic qualifying series and the popularity of the breaking ticket (currently very, very popular), it seems that there is a lot of interest in the sport.

  • 05

    Which Summer Olympic race is your favorite?

    Personally, archery. Korea has historically been very strong in the sport and it’s always fun to watch a sport that my team is good at (I’ll be attending the women’s individual archery finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics).

    Take a look at a video with Kim while answering questions about the Olympic Games.