TWU alum gets front-row seat to Olympics as volunteer

July 26, 2024- DENTON - For those who may have had dreams of winning Olympic gold or attending the games as a spectator, check this out: A Texas Woman's alumna is getting a peek behind the curtains at the Paris Olympics and the Paralympic Games this summer.

When Vanessa Fiaud, PhD, heard that the 2024 Olympics was going to be in Paris, she was first in line when the announcement for volunteers was posted. Fiaud grew up in France and her childhood was spent playing various sports in Saint-Remy Chevreuse, one of the places that Pierre de Coubertin - considered the father of the modern Olympic games - called home.

"I cannot recall not being involved in sports other than when I had some injuries," Fiaud said. "My parents always encouraged me to be active. Additionally, since my town and the surrounding towns were involved with the history of the Olympics, there always were some activities related to that."

Not only did Fiaud love playing sports, she was always glued to the television for the two weeks during the Olympics. Since sports and the Olympics have always been intertwined in her life, it was maybe inevitable that Fiaud went to school and devoted a career to how the body moves and how performance can be improved.

Fiaud earned a master's degree in health and physical education at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and a PhD in kinesiology from Texas Woman's. She has taught as an associate professor at West Texas A&M since 2009.

"I think the human body is the most beautiful and advanced machine we currently have for sports and movement in general," Fiaud said.

Volunteering for the Olympics is quite a bit more work than putting your name on a sign up sheet. Fiaud completed a personality test, a competency test, a language test and then waited months before hearing she had been approved as an official volunteer. She is staying with family members through early September and is teaching an online course in the history of the Olympics over the summer.

One of the first sports that Fiaud competed in was fencing so it's extra poignant that she was placed with the fencing and taekwondo teams. Leading up to her departure, she wasn't sure of her exact role.

"It looks like I will be working around eight hours a day on the site for the Olympics," Fiaud said. "For the Paralympics, I will be detached to a member of the 'Olympic Family' and I will be assisting them in their movements between different tasks and venues. The early shift should be starting around 5 a.m. and the late shift is expected to finish around 2 a.m."

Despite the busy schedule, she is hoping to witness "some amazing sporting performances" and connecting with other volunteers from all over the world.

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