Editor’s note: Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, we connected with Shannon Rowbury, a three-time Olympian (U.S. track and field) and alumna of the U.S. Department of State Sports Envoy program. Shannon also led the 2022 Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF) project, “Women’s Empowerment Through Sport: Development Camp for High School Track and Field Coaches and Women Athletes,” which addressed the lack of equity in track and field between genders and in underserved communities. We spoke with Shannon about sports diplomacy, community building, and the role of athletes as ambassadors for local and global impact.
Shannon Rowbury at a track and field development camp. All photos by the project team.
Tell us a little about yourself and your CDAF project.
My name is Shannon Rowbury. I am a San Francisco native and three-time Olympian (2008, 2012, 2016). My husband, Pablo Solares (Mexican National Record holder in track and field), and I started our nonprofit Imagining More in 2012, with the mission of expanding the idea of what an athlete is and can be.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, neither Pablo nor I felt like there were any sports role models that looked like us, so we set out to change that. We started by giving grants to young athletes, so they could create art with a first-person point of view. We wanted to add more stories to the collective conversation.
Thanks to CDAF, we were able to expand our reach in 2022. We received a grant to launch our first ever “Empowerment Through Sport” camp in my hometown of San Francisco, and had 70 attendees, including high school athletes and coaches. We were able to impart the hard-earned wisdom and life experiences of an Olympic coach and world-class, professional track athletes through hands-on training sessions, live demonstrations, workshops, and small group work.
Our camp curriculum offered strategies for creating equity in co-ed sports teams; insights on developing a women-specific coaching model; tips on how to be your best in sport; and guidance on how to leverage your unique talents for potential collegiate and career opportunities. Our ultimate goal was to empower camp participants to embrace their potential and become successful leaders.
What inspired you to pursue your CDAF project?
In 2017, I had the privilege of representing the U.S. Department of State as a Sports Envoy to Morocco on the topic of “Women’s Empowerment Through Sport.” We visited the Olympic Training Center in Rabat where we were able to teach aspiring elite athletes and coaches about the foundational physical and mental skills needed to develop into world-class athletes. We also spent time in the countryside around Marrakech, introducing kids to athletics and teaching them about the way sports can develop health and self-confidence.
During my Sports Envoy, I saw firsthand how sports could benefit everyone, regardless of whether they were aspiring elite athletes or simply looking for ways to become healthy, more confident people. As I flew home from Morocco, it became my goal to bring the same kind of “Empowerment Through Sport” camp back home to the USA.
What role do sports play in building community and gender equality?
Sports are life concentrated. When we put ourselves under pressure, we see what we are made of. Sports allow us to form deep community bonds forged through shared interests and hard work. Although there is still a vast pay disparity for women’s sports, the ability to participate allows women to develop body confidence, mental fortitude, and healthy friendships with opposite genders in co-ed sports like running. The ability for girls to earn college scholarships and pro contracts has helped to create a wave of business leaders in the sports arena and in the boardroom.
Participants in the women’s track and field development camp.
Looking specifically at the Olympics, can you share your thoughts on sports diplomacy and the role of athletes as ambassadors for local and global impact?
As a country and a world, we have approached parity in Olympic Sports for persons of color and for women, far in advance of the workplace. Representation matters, and Olympic sports have huge global visibility. The ability to see someone who looks like you doing impressive feats…those are the moments that inspire. Many young children, who on a daily basis don’t normally see high achieving role models who look like them, can find every Olympic cycle inspiration for what might be possible.
As a sports envoy, having the opportunity to visit another country, share my expertise as an Olympic athlete, and also learn from the local people I interact with, is one of the best ways to build bonds between people, countries, and cultures.
Any final words of wisdom you’d like to share with young athletes or ExchangeAlumni seeing to facilitate positive change in their communities?
The best way to lead is to serve. To really help a community, you need to be fully immersed in it. Be present, ask questions, pay attention. We might think we know what is needed, but through conversations with our community members on the front lines, we can identify the greatest needs and then work together to provide solutions with the biggest impact.