Who is that kid in the authentic “torch carrying” garb?

I can’t believe it, but it’s me.

Anyone who has followed my posts or knows me is aware that athlete I am NOT!

I am not much of a sports fan either – despite being passionate about fostering physical movement and healthy living.

So, how is it that someone like me has the privilege of saying that twenty years ago I carried the Olympic torch?

As I recall this opportunity, it seems incredulous to me, especially the larger impact it had on the rest of my life.

When I was in my mid twenties,  I was unclear of my career path (I had been waiting tables and doing sales in Chicago at that time).  While traveling to Barcelona on vacation, I  had an opportunity for an interview with the Olympic Committee.

I got the job and immediately moved to Barcelona to help prepare for this historic event.

It was a blast but very hard work. My boss was a nut job (an “enchufe” – which means she was plugged into the job basically through nepotism), her secretary wanted to kill me (that is a very long but now funny story).

The Catalan folks putting on the Olympics (from Barcelona) hated the folks I worked for, media folks in charge of the “Radio Televisio Olympiada-RTO” (mainly from Madrid) and made working at the Committee a TRIP.

As a “neutral” American who was fluent in Spanish but could also limp along in Catalan, I was frequently asked to take work requests from our “RTO” media group to the Catalan group so they would be fulfilled instead of filed.

I became close and personal with the long history of competition/mistreatment/hatred between these two regions of Spain. (Under Franco’s harsh regime speaking Catalan was even outlawed as one of many ways to suppress the Catalan people.)

At the huge party the night before the Olympic Games started, I remember seeing OJ Simpson with Nicole. Very strange to recall that evening given what happened.

Despite all of the drama, I further fell in love with Spain, and became a huge fan of the Catalan people for their industriousness and frank natures (and amazing food!). It was an INCREDIBLE honor to be involved and I developed some wonderful friendships.

But let me get back to carrying the Olympic torch…

When I heard that the Committee were having a contest to select employees, via essay applications, among their employees to be a torch carrier  I was determined to do it.

Because the decision makers were Catalan I wrote my application in the best Catalan I could muster – and I actually made the cut!

My section to run with the torch was the Penedes region of Spain, just below Barcelona.

The outfit in these photos is the official garb – down to the socks and shoes – given to the torch carriers to wear. (I still have my formal uniform for the Games, an orange skirt outfit that women in my division wore in the photo below.)

My orange uniform is currently hanging in my office at the Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center for Women and Girls at the University of Michigan (UM) (a strategic partnership between the UM and the Women’s Sports Foundation.) Some have suggested I auction it on EBAY but I don’t think I could part with it.

I recall how heavy that extremely light torch became the further I carried it- working to hold it majestically: high, straight up, and in front of me.

The last half of my assigned kilometer, the torch kept tipping down and I had to muster all of my strength to raise it up again. (Remember, I’m no athlete – Not even close.)

But the momentousness of this event enabled me to complete my mission, and shout along the way “Visc Catalunya!” (Live Catalunya!) to the roaring crowd of Penedes citizens proudly lining their streets.

I haven’t thought about this amazing honor for over a decade or two, until now, as the world gears up for the 2012 games and conversations are spinning around me.

As I reflect upon carrying the flame that would eventually light the fire, igniting the 1992 Olympic Games, something amazing dawns on me:  I am carrying another significant torch today, twenty  years later.

Participating in the 1992 Olympics did not light my fire for sports.

It did, however, light a different kind of flame for me – Participating in this glorious global event influenced my thinking about the power of movement, having deeply meaningful personal goals, and striving to live life to the fullest.

Contributing to the success of the 1992 Olympics sparked a desire deep inside of me to work toward understanding and facilitating empowerment and self-realization through living well.

The Torch I carry today aims to ignite a deep and authentic desire for meaningful, healthy living through research and also training professionals how to foster better decision making and lasting motivation among their employees, patients, and clients.

Now, as I consider the upcoming games I ponder: What can we (regular folks who are not elite athletes – and professionals who work with us) take away from the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games that is valuable and relevant for us?

I believe can learn from the focus and dedication that elite athletes bring to this competition.

By realizing that the choices we make every day actually determine what we bring to and what we get out of our own lives we discover an inspiring mission that is far less extreme but no less important than winning at the Olympics:  Deciding to fuel our own energy through strategic daily choices so that we may leverage and live OUR lives to the fullest.

The photo below is a recent photo my friend Roser sent me of folks we worked with during the Olympics.