Mikulak on Lelepo: “It’s Great to Have Someone That’s a Little Different”

The World Selection Committee always meets at least twice per year. In these meetings, there are usually a short listing of thirty to forty athletes that have all been formally selected as being the top in their respective sport who may then be considered for the post of national Olympic committee chairmanship. After a successful election, the current incumbent becomes the President and a new election will then be held at the next meeting.

Because this is such a sensitive area of the games, it is imperative that the selection committee has the most diverse range of members possible. There are a number of people who are involved in the entire process from the president through the secretary general who are all vital to the overall well being of the games. Every country has its own young people who are hopefully talented enough to represent their country at the Olympics. Many young people aspire to one day walk on the gold medal podium and make this country proud. A select few have the potential to do so and having them on the committee is crucial. The World Selection Committee is charged with the responsibility of selecting the most talented young athletes from every country so they can represent their country in the Olympic Games.

The most recent appointment by the World Selection Committee was to take into consideration the experience of the previous President of the IPC, Mikulak. Mikulak has almost forty years of experience in this field and has been an active member of the committee for ten years. Mikulak said that his first task was to review the candidate literature and criteria and then narrow it down to those athletes that had all the right attributes. The review procedure took place over the summer and the final list was reduced to a couple of candidates. It was then down to the World Selection Committee to choose the athletes. President Mikulak said that it was a very humbling task for him and the entire selection committee is very fortunate that they were able to select such a great individual as Lelepo.

Mikulak went into detail regarding the process that he and his committee went through to pick the right candidate for the Olympic Games. When he first decided to select Lelepo, he knew that his choice would be controversial and the selection committee did their research very carefully. They interviewed several candidates and also reviewed documents. Ultimately, the candidate that they felt most fit for the job was Mikulak himself.

The entire World Select Committee felt that Lelepo would be a great choice because of his passion for the game. He is very active within his organization and is very dedicated to winning for his country. He also is an inspiration to other young athletes and how they must strive to achieve their goals. Mikulak said that he was very surprised when he learned that Lelepo was actually the chosen candidate. He said that it is rare to find an athlete that matches what the World Select Committee is looking for in a potential Olympic athlete. Mikulak was especially glad that Lelepo was an All-Star and even went as far as to say that he envisions him playing in the NBA someday.

Mikulak also went into detail about how the World Select Committee came to the decision that they chose Lelepo. It was the thorough interview process that they went through with Lelepo that helped them make the final decision. They also spent some time discussing his work ethic and how he practices to improve himself each day. Mikulak and his committee made a very wise decision by selecting Lelepo as the man to represent the Dominican Republic in the 2021 Olympic Games.