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AboveValent Sinković (left) celebrates winning Croatia’s first-ever rowing gold medal with his brother MartinOlympic Games in Rio. It also allowed me to cover some of the expenses related to my participation at the Games.“I benefited immensely from this programme and I am convinced that Olympic Solidarity contributed enormously to my success in Rio.”In addition to his personal achievements, the 28-year-old – who also won Olympic silver in the quadruple sculls in London – believes the success of the other scholarship holders speaks volumes for Olympic Solidarity and the support it provides – not just at the Games themselves, but also with training, travel and all the other preparations in the years beforehand.“I feel privileged and I am also honoured to be a part of such a successful group,” he revealed. “It is of great importance to be supported by this type of programme when you are a young, ambitious athlete living and training under circumstances that are holding you back and not allowing you to do all that you would like to. “Programmes like Olympic Solidarity give you an opportunity to follow your dreams and keep on moving in spite of financial problems and all the hardships that you are forced to deal with. I’m sure that the fact that [the medallists] were backed by Olympic Solidarity played a considerable part in their success.”While the likes of Kelmendi and Sinković attracted attention for their medal-winning efforts, it was a group of 10 athletes – none of whom reached the podium – who made headlines around the world. Representing the Refugee Olympic Team – the first of its kind – athletes from four different countries acted as a symbol of hope for refugees worldwide. And Olympic Solidarity played a significant role in their participation, funding the team’s preparations, travel and other expenses. It continues to support the athletes after the Games.With the record-breaking exploits from Olympic Solidarity athletes at Rio 2016 now a golden memory, attention quickly turns to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. So far, Olympic Solidarity has allocated 265 individual scholarships to 42 NOCs. And if the results from Rio are anything to go by, we can expect plenty more stellar performances to savour.■athletes and 20 teams were representedNOCs were represented, plus the Refugee Olympic TeamAthletes competed inAthletes wonsportsmedals more medals than at London 2012, plus eight medals in team events SHOW OF SOLIDARITYOlympic Solidarity records at Rio 2016 in numbers8151711012225‘OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY HELPED ME PREPARE BETTER FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIO’VALENT SINKOVIĆ (CROATIA)66 OLYMPIC REVIEW OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY