Speech by Peter Holmberg for the Olympic Day Celebration

St. Croix, Virgin Islands, June 20, 2009

Thank you for inviting me here today. It is an honor to speak to all of you at this event which is being held around the world to celebrate the Olympic movement.

I will tell you why the Olympic movement, and sport in particular, is so important in our lives. But first I will tell you the story of my Olympic journey and & the lessons learned along the way.

My message is for all the athletes, parents, coaches, VI Olympic Committee members, and politicians here today.

My story has three parts-

I was born and raised on St. Thomas, attended St. Peter & Paul School, Charlotte Amalie High School, and then got my degree in Business Management in California. My parents introduced me to the water and sailing when I was just 4 years old. They helped me pursue this interest, first by getting us small boats to play with, and then by helping me travel to races as I became competitive. It started with races at our club, and then events on other islands, and then national and international regattas.

The second part of my story is when I started my Olympic journey. I realized while racing in college against sailors from around the world that I had talent, and so when I finished school I set my sights on the 1984 Olympics, just a couple years away. I made a plan, set a budget, and raised enough money from fundraisers and sponsors to buy a Finn dinghy and begin training at home. I then was loaned a motor home and spent the final 6 months training and competing in the states and at the Olympic site in Los Angeles. At the conclusion of this short campaign, I finished 11^th in the field of 36 at the Olympics. As I reflected on this campaign in the days and weeks that followed, I came to truly believe that if I planned and executed the right campaign, that I was capable of wining a Medal.

And so I decided to mount my campaign for the 1988 Olympics in Korea. And here is the key- I did it my way, not the standard routine that all the sailors from big countries were following. I trusted myself, realizing how I got this far and used my business education to make a plan, one that would lift me above the pack and into medal contention. The VI has the best sailing conditions in the world, so I found ways to bring the competition to me here for training. I never went to the World Championships. I never had a coach. But I went to Korea, to study the conditions and get one of the prototype boats we would be using in the Games. And then I trained hard, often by myself, and sometimes at night so I could learn to do it all by feel. I set a course with buoys in rough waters with lots of current, because this is how it was going to be in Korea. For my final year I invited a sailor from Argentina who was also training alone to come train with me here. In the final weeks I did everything on the exact timeline that I would be racing by in Korea; when I had my meals, when the race would start, doing the full race course, etc. And then the Olympics, going into the final of seven races there were six of us in contention for medals. Half way through that final race, in the roughest sailing conditions ever in an Olympic regatta, I was in 6^th position and did the quick math, which told me I would not medal. At this moment I switched from sailing safe and surviving, to cutting loose and FIGHTING for what I wanted. I passed everyone in front of me except one to finish second, and win the Silver Medal, the first Olympic medal ever won by our small country, the Virgin Islands.

The Olympics changed my life forever. It was, and continues to be, the greatest experience in my life. To have the dream. To work harder than I have ever worked. To achieve the reward of an Olympic Medal. And then the opportunities that came to me from this medal; the chance to race professionally, earn a living doing my sport, travel the world competing, meeting wonderful people along the way. It changed my path in life. It has given me an incredibly wonderful life.

Why did I chase this dream? What gave me the strength and determination to fight so hard for it? A big part of it is pride. To represent your country, the place and people that has made me who I am. This I believe is that special ingredient we Virgin Islanders have in us, that has the potential to grow into a powerful force, and stay with us for life.

Sport is incredibly important in our lives. The opportunity should be given to our kids at a young age. It can be a foundation in our lives, particularly at a young age, to give us direction and purpose, and steer us away from drugs and trouble. It opens a path in life to such wonderful opportunities, fosters a healthy way of living, and takes you on amazing journeys. For all these reasons, I encourage all of you to foster it in our youth and make it a part of all your lives.

We must also be careful in today’s world where athletes are glamorized and there is the growing desire to make stars of our children. We must not push sports on our kids, or over-coach them. Let them enjoy it, let them learn what they love, before we push them along to higher levels. Doing it yourself teaches self reliance, something that is being lost today in some sports.

We as Virgin Islanders also have a unique opportunity that others around the world in bigger countries don’t have. As a territory of the US we were granted separate nation status in the Olympics. That gives our small nation the opportunity to compete with the great nations of the world. And as individuals, we have a much higher chance of rising to the top and being able to represent our country abroad. We should use this chance, relish the opportunity.

There are competitive advantages and disadvantages of being based here in the Virgin Islands. The key is to make a smart plan that maximizes the advantages and minimizes the disadvantages. I used our great sailing conditions to attract the best talent in the world to come here and give me the competition I needed to improve. The same can be done in other sports, utilizing our year round good weather, our isolation, etc.

My message to the athletes out there - if you really want it, if it’s in your heart, then it is possible. It starts with a smart campaign plan, total commitment, lots and lots of hard practice and training, but you can do it. Just look at me – born and raised in St. Thomas, started messing about in boats for fun, it grew into an Olympic dream, and I made it.

In closing, I must thank the VI Olympic Committee and all the folks that work so hard behind the scenes to allow us athletes to pursue our dreams. In particular I wish to thank Lyn Reid and the sailing federation. Lyn has been there since the beginning, she was there for me throughout my campaigns, and she is still here now working for the VIOC. She has given her time and energy for the VI for all these years and we owe her our deepest gratitude.

To the VI Olympic Committee – thank you for all that you do for the VI and sports, but please continue to strive for more. We need to seek more private funding and to use it wisely, to nurture and help the athletes that demonstrate the ability to compete on an international level. Keep politics out of sport, and fund the right events, not necessarily the biggest or most prestigious ones.

And one final plea to our government: we are an island surrounded by sea, some of the best waters in the world, and the basis of our tourist economy. And yet our native population does not swim, or fish, or sail. This is shameful. We should introduce swimming in our schools and make it a prerequisite to graduating. This would open up our greatest natural resource to our local population, allow them to enjoy it, pursue marine careers and watersports, and play a greater role in our tourist economy.

Thank you for having me here today, and I am always available for our athletes and the Virgin Islands Olympic movement, to help in any way that I can.