FILIPINO fencer Lance Tan was named one of only 25 young leaders to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Young Leaders program.
Tan, who competed in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires, and his fellow young leaders, were among 350 applicants from all over the world. The Filipino’s batch is only the fifth in the four-year IOC program.
“I am so honored and humbled to have been selected as an IOC Young Leader,” Tan said on social media. “I am looking forward to learning and growing over the next four years, and through Olympism and sport, serving others and having a positive impact in the Philippines.”
The IOC announced early this week the composition of the Young Leaders program through its president Thomas Bach.
“The IOC Young Leaders program is empowering young people from around the world to put this mission in their communities into action,” Bach said in the statement. “With a sharp focus on building sustainable sport-based social businesses, 25 young people will be given unique opportunities.”
Tan is now based in the US, having secured a full athletic scholarship at the Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
He also represented the country in the International Fencing Federation 2018 World Championships in Wuxi, China, and in 2019 in Budapest.
“My social development goal is equal access to education. As a Filipino and a NCAA recruited scholarship athlete in the United States, I want to work towards making post-secondary educational opportunities more available to other Filipino athletes, whether in the Philippines or abroad,” Tan said.