Marching from a community in Bogota to the Olympic Games:

experiences of a sport for development and peace program.

Abstract

This study contributes to the advancement of the field of sport for development and peace (SDP) research in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). There are still few studies on SDP programs in this region and it is important to document and understand the impacts of these programs on participants. The present study is the result of a collaborative research that aims to describe the experiences and perceptions (1. To describe how works the SDP program and 2. To understand and document the perceived effects of the DDP program of Colombian youth) of Colombian youth who participated in a SDP program that took them from a local sports club to the Olympic Games. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with key actors (administrators, coaches and athletes) who participated in a triple and transversal (local, district and national) Olympic walking training program from a community in Bogota to the Olympic Games. The results provided a better understanding of the coordination, organization and involvement of the local community of Ciudad Bolivar, the District Institute of Recreation and Sport and Coldeportes. The interviews showed the short- and long-term effects perceived by the actors of the process on their development, education, health and professional careers. Recommendations are made for official SDP organizations in LAC. Future studies should continue to investigate the SDP initiative in LAC to understand how sport can help development and peace building in this region.