IOC chief praises YOG

SINGAPORE – IOC president Jacques Rogge lauded the organizers for the smooth staging of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games which reached its halfway mark in various venues here yesterday.

“The athletes are having a great time and the smiles you see everywhere are proof of that,” said Rogge. “So far, everything is going smoothly and we’ve been very pleased with the organization, the competition and the non-sport activities.

“While it is impossible to provide a full assessment of the YOG until after it’s over, so far we are very satisfid,” he said. Some 3,600 competitors from 204 countries, representing the world’s leading 14-18 athletes, are at the Games which are being staffed by 20,000 volunteers and covered by 1,900 accredited media from around the world.

The participation of all the NOCs (National Olympic Committees) is a strong demonstration of the event’s universality with athletes from 60 NOCs winning medals thus far.

The YOG drew a record participation of women in an Olympic event and marks the debut of mixed events featuring teams with both men and women and athletes from different countries participating together.

“Athletes and spectators alike have really taken to the new sport formats,” said IOC executive director for Olympic Games Gilbert Felli. “We are very pleased with the way the various international federations have embraced the YOG.”             – Dante Navarro

The more than 50 Culture and Education Program activities have been very popular with the athletes so much so that additional sessions have been added by the organizers.

One of the most well-received CEP events was the “Chat with Champions” session featuring Olympic champion pole vaulters Sergey Bubka and Yelena Isinbaeva, who were a source of inspiration to the young Olympians during lively and often amusing Q&A sessions.