Students across Kangaroo Island Community Education's (KICE) three campuses were treated to a visit from Tokyo Olympic beach volleyballer Chris McHugh last month, as part of the Olympics Unleashed program.

The free program aims to inspire school students by bringing elite athletes into the classroom to share how they set goals, overcome challenges and demonstrate resilience.

So far more than 270 Olympians have visited over 2600 schools across Australia, either in-person or virtually.

Chris, 34, spoke to the students about the highs of his Olympic journey, including winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and qualifying for his first Olympic Team in 2020, but also touched on the painful setback along the way.

KICE high school teacher Barb McKimmie said the presentation exceeded her expectations.

“Having people like Chris come in and help us teach things like resilience is so important,” Ms McKimmie said.

Year 12 student Cooper Gregor appreciated Chris's message that "if you have a dream, chase it".

“I also really liked how he spoke about finding our support network, for me that's my parents and my friends, and how we should use our support networks to help us achieve our goals,” Cooper said.

Student Grace Kauppila added: "A key takeaway for me was that if something is in your way, you can get through it, you just have to believe in yourself."

Olympics Unleashed was launched in South Australia in 2023 and is aimed at students in years seven to nine. It is being funded by a $500,000 combined contribution from the South Australian Government and Australian Olympics Committee.

Australian Olympic Committe’s Chief Operating Officer Todd Day said: “Having an Olympian tell their story, including the setbacks and challenges faced along the way, gives students a unique opportunity to learn important life lessons of self-awareness, strength of character, goal setting, focus and motivation.”