Sjef, Aida announced as athlete role models for Buenos Aires 2018

Olympic silver medallist Aida Roman of Mexico and Dutch Olympian Sjef van den Berg have been named as archery’s athlete role models for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018.

Aida and Sjef will mentor and support the next generation of young athletes, leading activities in the Youth Olympic Village and making themselves available to archers at the competition venue.

“I hope to show archers that it is in fact possible to work your way up to the top of archery, even though it might not seem so,” said Sjef.

“It’s important that young athletes understand what it means to be an elite athlete and what is still to come in their careers. Sometimes for an up-and-comer it will seem like the step up to being a competitive senior archer on the world stage is too large, but it can seem much smaller – and make much more sense – in hindsight.”

The main goal behind the programme is to enable the athlete role models to share their experiences and inspire the athletes to be the best they can be both on and off the field of play.

The previous athlete role models for archery were Khatuna Lorig at Nanjing 2014 and Wietse van Alten at Singapore 2010.

Aida Roman, 29, made her international debut for Mexico in 2007. She has competed at three Olympic Games (2008, 2012, 2016) and finished with silver in London in 2012. She was World Archery Indoor Champion and Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion in 2014. Aida recently finished second with the Mexican recurve women’s team at the Hyundai World Archery Championships in Mexico City.

Sjef van den Berg, 22, made his senior international debut for the Netherlands in 2012. He finished fourth at his first Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. He was silver medallist at the Baku 2015 European Games and second at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in 2016.

The third edition of the Youth Olympic Games takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018.