International Olympic Committee news

In the framework of the PhD Students and Early Career Academics Research Grant Programme, the IOC Olympic Studies Centre (OSC), with help of its Grant Selection Committee, has selected four research projects based on their academic quality and link with Olympic studies.

The selected candidates and their chosen projects are:

1. Ellie GENNINGS (GBR)
   Research project: A Concept Mapping Study of High-Performance Adolescent Athlete’s Perspectives of Safety in Sport
   Bournemouth University (GBR)
2. Catalina MELENDRO BLANCO (COL)
   Research project: From hegemonic Global North perspectives towards Global South realities: Exploring sport leaders’ views towards an intersectional sport safeguarding strategy
   Canterbury Christ Church University (GBR)
3. Monica NELSON (USA)
   Research project: Strength in Difference?: Examining sex- and gender-based training practices in women’s Olympic Weightlifting
   University of Waikato (NZD)
4. Mikaela SPRINGSTEEN (USA/EST)
   Research project: Rating and Ranking in the Pursuit of Perfection on Ice
   Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)

The chosen candidates benefit from a grant which allows them to carry out their research project and, if relevant, to consult the Olympic Studies Centre’s resources in Lausanne (Switzerland). The results of their research must be submitted to the OSC at the end of 2025.

35 candidates from 20 countries and 5 continents applied

For this 26^th edition of the programme, 22 applications were submitted by doctoral students and 13 by early career academics.

Background of the programme

The PhD Students and Early Career Academics Grant Programme is one of the two research programmes that has been organised by the OSC, aiming to support Olympic-related academic research since 1999. It contributes to promote the presence of Olympic studies in the universities by reaching out to the next generation of professors.

What is the selection process?

The grant holders were selected by a committee composed of academic experts who are renowned for their involvement in Olympic studies and of OSC representatives. The selection committee for the 2025 edition of the programme comprised the following academic members: Mahfoud Amara (Qatar University, Qatar), Dikaia Chatziefstathiou (Canterbury Christ Church University, Great Britain), Angela Schneider (Western University, Canada), Tracy Taylor (RMIT University, Australia) and Paul Wylleman (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium).

Other research grant opportunities

University professors, lecturers and research fellows who have completed their doctorate and who currently hold an academic/research appointment covering the period of the grant are eligible to apply to the Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme. The call for applications for the 2025-2027 edition is now open and the deadline for submitting applications is 27 January 2025.

This programme aims to promote advanced research by established researchers with a humanities or social sciences perspective in priority fields of research identified by the IOC.

The full list of research projects funded by the Olympic Studies Centre since the creation of its grant programmes in 1999 is available here.

For more information on the Olympic Studies Centre and its programmes and services, visit its website or contact studies.centre@olympic.org. To discover the full OSC’s collections including 40,000 publications and 1.5km of IOC historical archives, visit the Olympic World Library.

The Olympic Studies Centre is the official centre of reference for Olympic knowledge. Its missions are to make Olympic knowledge accessible, foster and support education, teaching and research among students and academics and stimulate the dialogue between the academic community and the Olympic Movement.

International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a not-for-profit independent international organisation that is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.4 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

As the leader of the Olympic Movement, the IOC acts as a catalyst for collaboration between all parties of the Olympic family, from the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Sports Federations (IFs), the athletes and the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) to the Worldwide Olympic Partners, broadcast partners and United Nations (UN) agencies, and shepherds success through a wide range of programmes and projects. On this basis, it ensures the regular celebration of the Olympic Games, supports all affiliated member organisations of the Olympic Movement and strongly encourages, by appropriate means, the promotion of the Olympic values.

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