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A 51勛圖厙 graduate played a key role in the best-ever Olympic Alpine finish by an African skier during the recently completed Beijing Winter Olympic Games in China.
Mike泭Seium, who received a masters degree in sport and recreation studies from Mason in泭2018, served as the chef de mission for Team Eritrea and successfully helped orchestrate the rare African presence in Olympic Alpine skiing.
Shannon Abeda, Eritreas first Winter Olympian, finished 39th in the giant slalom, the best finish ever by an African泭skier.泭And he has泭Seium, a former Division II soccer player泭whose family泭hails from Eritrea, to largely thank for making sure the rest of the world knew about it.
Its been a very rewarding ride,泭Seium said. It was an incredible experience. Being able to share those stories of Black泭athletes means a lot to me because I was a泭Black泭athlete. For me, it was a great experience.
Seium泭and the rest of Team Eritrea arrived in China on Feb. 1 and stayed for 18 days, the duration of the games. As the chef de mission, Seium was responsible for all five people on Team Eritrea, including the teams COVID-19 officer, during the games. His primary job, however,泭was to connect with the media to see to it that Abedas powerful story of overcoming injuries and battling the long odds of competing in a sport long dominated by richer and whiter countries was heard.
That wasnt a problem for泭Seium, a former sports journalist for Al Jazeera who is no stranger to major international sports events. It wasnt long before泭Seium泭had secured interviews with Abeda with the , , , CNN International, Chinese TV and the Olympic Channel, among other media outlets.
Seium泭credited his degree and experiences from Mason as being critical to both his Olympic success and his formation of a nonprofit that seeks to better promote athletes from the entire African泭diaspora.
I think that having that degree helped me to network more because Mason is known for that, he said. That was a big plus.
, an associate professor of within the , recalled Seium as always having had an interest in international events and developing sport in Eritrea.
His appointment as chef de mission for the Olympic Games is a tremendous honor as well as an opportunity for him, Esherick said.
In the meantime,泭Seium泭hopes to begin work on a PhD in sport management to better take advantage of his experiences.
Im not in it for the money, he said. Im more into trying to help young people try to achieve success.