By Car to Tokyo
Virtual Stop in Piešťany

As part of the current international activities of Gymnázium Pierra de Coubertina in Piešťany, an online presentation on Olympic values and the power of sport took place in April and May 2021 withing the project Coubertin Academy – Social Inclusion through Sport Values. At the same time it was a pilot project of the Slovak Olympic Academy within the framework of the prepared educational activities. Therefore, in addition to the students and teachers of Gymnázium Pierra de Coubertina in Piešťany, the participants of the OVEP webinars, which are organized by the Slovak Olympic and Sport Committee, were also invited.
 
The main speaker was René Beck from Germany, who talked about his intention to travel from Leipzig to the Olympics in Tokyo by a Land Rover called “Barney“, which was adapted for this long journey. Of the planned visit to 22 countries and the 15,000 km route, only part of the journey was finally completed due to the pandemic - the first wave of the pandemic caught them in Croatia, the second one in Turkey, each time making them return to Germany. However, his journey, originally leading through the Balkan Peninsula, Persia and Central Asia, was continuing virtually in 2021 and Piešťany was one of the online stops.

Sports manager René Beck lectures around the world about Olympic ideas, raising awareness of the geopolitical impact of the Olympic Games. Through his activities, he wants to contribute to international understanding and tolerance. As we learned during his presentation, he was supported not only by NGOs, educational institutions, sports enthusiasts or sponsors, but also by government institutions, even German diplomatic missions in the countries he passed through.
 
René Beck‘s engaging storytelling was illustrated with amazing photographs and stories from the trip. During the presentation, enriched with video inputs, he also answered a number of curious questions concerning not only the journey itself but also an extensive and thorough preparations for it. Among other things, there was a seemingly simple question about choosing a car - why not a new one. Although the answer may seem obvious - lack of money, it eventually surprised many. As the route also led through poorer countries and inhospitable areas, it was important that the car should be repaired in any possible way and did not have unnecessarily complicated electronics.
The participants of this interesting virtual international event in Piešťany were notably Gymnázium Pierra de Coubertina in Piešťany as well as other Slovak schools from all over the nation. Moreover, important foreign guests took part as well, including representatives of the European Commission and members of the project team of a transnational project called Coubertin Academy - social inclusion through sports values, co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
 
In response to the presentation, one of the students stated that “they were thrilled by such a different view of life, excited that it was not only hurried, without interest in others.“ More details are also available on the website of the of the International Olympic Academy Participants Association at https://ioapa.org/road2tokio/ .
 
In the end, René Beck shared his new challenges and plans for the future. One of the most attractive is a bike trip along the so-called Iron Curtain Trail. Students and participants in Piešťany were particularly interested in this activity and Eva Corticelli, the initiator and coordinator of the presentation, already registers the first Slovak cycling enthusiasts from among the students wanting to join René at least for a certain part of his venue. We keep our fingers crossed for everyone and invite others to join.