I am Mirna Jukić-Berger, a Croatian born Olympic swimmer who, due to some life circumstances, ended up living in and swimming for Austria. I come from a sports family and was always into action, moving and competing. I started to swim at the age of seven and continued to swim until the age of 24. What should I say – it was love at first sight.

My swimming career had its ups and downs, but I loved and enjoyed (almost J) every second of it. As a competitor, I participated in two Olympic Games (2004 and 2008) and I proudly wear the bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics in 100m breaststroke. My other achievements in the pool include a 5-time European Champion-title, numerous silver and bronze medals from the European Championship, as well as three bronze medals from the World Championships.

Due to my successes, I have been chosen as “Austria’s Sportswoman of the Year” three times, in 2002, 2008 and 2009. Experts say that I am one of the Austrian most successful summer-sport athletes of all time – I would say that I am just a girl who followed her dream and got lucky to do what she loves with such a success.

After I finished my swimming career in 2010, I continued to be in and around sports and especially to still be a part of the Olympic Movement. I was able to work in different positions at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics and I will continue this journey at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.

I am a mom of two, I have a bachelor's and master's degree in communication science, and I have been working at the Austrian Ministry of Sport since 2020.

Nadine Keßler is the current Chief of Women’s Football at UEFA (formally UEFA Advisor and Head of Women’s Football), in this role Nadine leads that strategic direction of women’s football through TimeForAction 2019-24 and is the main contact for all football and non-football stakeholders. She uses her role to pass on her knowledge for the good of the women’s game and aims to further develop the sport in all corners of Europe, as well as to take UEFA’s women’s competitions to new heights.

Nadine has responsibility for the UEFA Women’s European Championships, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championships and UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championships as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Olympic qualifiers. Furthermore, Nadine is responsible for all development projects looking to increase participation and professionalisation of the sport, this includes the European-wide funding programme, UEFA Women’s Football Development Programme.

Prior to her role at UEFA, Nadine was a former German international midfield player. In 2014, Nadine a standout player, was named the winner of the FIFA World Player of the year and UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe award.

At an international level she helped the German national team win at the UEFA Women’s European Championship in 2013. Nadine is a three-time winner of UEFA Women’s Champions League whilst playing for Vfl Wolfsburg and FFC Turbine Potsdam. Furthermore, she has been part of the winning teams in four German domestic championships and two German domestic cups.

Nadine holds an MA in General Management, specialising in Sports Business and a BA in Fitness Economics.

Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial is the Vice-President of the International Council for Coaching Excellence and Sport Coaching Europe. He has published widely on a variety of sport-related topics including high-performance coaching, youth sport and coach development. Sergio is the co-founder of ICOACHKIDS, a global movement influencing education, policy and practice in youth sport. He is recognised globally and consults for multiple high-level organisations such as the IOC, Nike, UEFA and FIBA.