Johann Olav Koss

Meet the world-beating speedskater and activist, Johann Olav Koss.

Johann Olav Koss



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Johann Olav Koss reorganised Olympic Aid as Right to
Play which helps poor children discover sports

This week on One on One, meet the world-beating speedskater and activist, Johann Olav Koss.

He proved himself to be the fastest man on ice in the 1990s when he won a handful of gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals, but he found greater meaning in helping poor children discover sports in places like Africa.
 
Trained as a medical doctor, he went on to pursue his passion for sports, in particular skating.

He started at the age of seven and went on to be described as one of the greatest winter athletes of all time as he dominated the sport of speedskating for almost a decade, breaking a total of 11 world records.
 
It was as an ambassador for Olympic Aid that he visited Eritrea in the run up to the Lillehammer Games and was moved by the poverty and plight of the country’s children.

He went on to reorganise Olympic Aid as ‘Right to Play’ and focused on his work as its head and as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.
 
Koss had a high-profile marriage to Canadian politician, businesswoman and socialite, Belinda Stronach which lasted only three years – but he decided to stay in Toronto where he set up his headquarters for Right to Play.
 
His passion for the charity dominates most of his time now, and he continues to prove that he is genuinely driven by the need to give children in impoverished nations a better future.

Watch part one of this episode of One on One on YouTube

Watch part two of this episode of One on One on YouTube

 

This episode of One on One aired on Saturday, April 19, 2008