For Olympic athletes, it’s not always just hard work and determination that bring the glory. Often, success on the greatest stage resides in supportive people around them as well as a positive environment where they can sharpen their skills. For Sophia Papamichalopoulos, representing Cyprus had always been a matter of pride that came with a hope to see her homeland finding its way out of tumultuous times.

With that in mind, the former Olympian and famous alpine skier embarked upon a mythical journey to bring the people closer together. Papamichalopoulos gathered a team of dedicated young people from Cyprus in the ambitious Winds of Change project to help the country overcome the obstacles. In a recent social media post, Papamichalopoulos’s latest challenge has been highlighted by the IOC Young Leaders.

Olympic icon’s ambitious undertaking

In their Instagram post, the official IOC account has shed light on Sophia Papamichalopoulos’s daring adventure to bring new hope to her country. The island of Cyprus has been plagued by internal war since 1974 after a military invasion toppled the country’s existing powers. And now, under the Olympic star’s leadership, a team of Greek and Turkish Cypriots looks to amplify a message of harmony and peace throughout the land.

“The project Winds of Change is exactly what its name suggests: a hope to bring change for the better“, reads the caption, and one can’t help but feel the tremors inside their heart as they watch the new sunrise on the horizon. Sophia wants the whole world to know more about the ongoing political situation in Cyprus and thus has a focus on making a documentary highlighting crucial moments from her journey around the island.

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“Our mission is to create this common journey using the Olympic values and sport to bring people together“, says Papamichalopoulos in the Instagram video clip. The common purpose of the crew members is for them to bond over a shared thought that will bring a time of peace to their country. Some members of Papamichalopoulos’s team opine that the project will go down in history, while others claim that they’re “in this together“.

Hope for a unified Cyprus to offset untouched Olympic dream

While Sophia Papamichalopoulos hasn’t had many golden Olympic moments, her glory moment came in 2010 when she was chosen as Cyprus’ flag bearer in the closing ceremony. Sophia and her brother Cristopher have represented their country in the Olympics as alpine skiers, but haven’t brought any medals.

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However, her latest adventure catapulted Sophia to a bigger stage, that even she hadn’t foreseen previously. Interestingly, “Sophia’s project aims to Challenge, Empower, and Inspire young people in Cyprus to come together through sport and overcome the divide. She selects a group of young Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to join her on the journey to achieve the unachievable.” And with the help of her peers, she already achieved the “unachievable.”

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