The six-day trip saw Rio 2016 basketballer Natalie Burton and Tokyo 2020 beach volleyballer Damien Schumann spread the Olympic values and encourage the local communities to ‘Have a Go’ at Olympic sport.

While on the Islands the duo shared their Olympic journeys with local school students, inspiring them to chase their own passions and passing on important lessons on goal setting, building resilience and overcoming adversity.

“It has been incredible,” Damien said.

“We’ve been able to visit two extremely unique places that I didn’t think I’d ever get to see or experience in my life. We not only experienced the islands, but we got to help out and interact with the community members which was amazing.”

“This was my first time to Christmas and Cocos Islands,” Natalie continued.

“We’ve been able to see so many parts of the islands and it has been such an authentic and immersive experience.

“My main message to the students is around having that clear focus on whatever they’re passionate about whether that’s sport, school, music, anything - just going for it and pursuing it with their best effort,” Natalie said.

“The message I always try to share is just making sure that they try as many different things as possible, discovering what their passions are, and that failing is okay!” Damien added.

In addition to the school visits, the Olympians had the opportunity to truly immerse themselves in the local culture and community, taking part in community events, sports clinics, tournaments and guided island tours.

"We've been doing a lot of school visits which have been awesome, but it's been very special being able to do the extra community events for example, helping out the local Volleyball team and the kids going away to Country Week with mindset tips,” Damien explained.

“All of those little extra things we’ve been able to do on top of the normal Olympics Unleashed visits have been amazing.”

Having both retired from elite sport, Natalie and Damien now use their experiences and the lessons learned through sport to motivate and inspire the next generation.

“It’s massive for me to be able to share my story and give back to the community,” Damien said.

“So many people helped me over my journey, so to be able to give back and hopefully play a small part in these students’ journeys, whether that’s in sport or something else, is something I am so passionate about.

“It’s a huge part of my life, and as you get older and have more experience you realise there is so much more to life than just the sport you’re playing,” Natalie continued.

“As athletes, we can be incredibly selfish sometimes when we are pursuing those huge dreams. So, to be able to give back to other people and share the lessons we learnt along the way through sport, is so important and its incredible that the Olympics Unleashed program gives us that platform.”

As for the impact on the local community, Natalie stressed the importance of continuing to spread the Olympic Movement to rural and remote areas around Australia.

“Sport is a way for us to connect as humans, strive for what we want, and it’s a great way to deal with failure and deal with mistakes in a safe environment,” Natalie said.

“For such an isolated place, it’s really hard for the communities here to get those resources and have the opportunities that people on the mainland may get.

“So, I think it is so important that more people and more resources come out to places like the Indian Ocean Territories to help promote the values of Olympism and share the Olympic experience.”

The Australian Government, through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications Division, provides funding to The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries to provide services to the Indian Ocean Territories.