After her Olympic victory in 2012, Nicola decided to use her Olympic gold medal to inspire and excite children about sports.
In 2014, together with her husband Reto Hug, she founded the “Nicola Spirig Kids Cup”, a children’s triathlon series consisting of five events in Switzerland. This series has been expanded in recent years and has gained a strong partner in the Pho3nix Foundation.
As “Pho3nix Kids Triathlon by Nicola Spirig”, the series now counts ten events spread throughout Switzerland. It will continue to grow.
The triathlons are open to all 5 to 13 year olds, are designed to be fun and exciting, and are intended to motivate children to lead an active lifestyle.
Nicola Spirig is on site as often as possible, giving the starting signal, high-fiving the youngsters at the finish line, handing over the medals at the award ceremony or meeting the kids for photos and signatures.
The “Nicola Spirig Foundation” was established in 2015. In 2020, it entered into a partnership with the Pho3nix Foundation. The foundation works with schools to motivate children to be active and shows them what they can learn from sports for other areas of their lives.
With workshops in schools, sporty exercise videos online, apps for counting steps, exercise diaries and other initiatives, the foundation encourages many children in Switzerland to exercise more.