1st Winter Youth Olympic Games kicks off in Innsbruck
Already the first record had been broken, as Innsbruck became the first city to host the Olympic games for the third time. Under the motto ’Be part of it’, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, welcomed the athletes and said, ‘As the next generation of sports men and women, you are now the role models that represent our hopes for the future’.
Team GB's delegation is led by Chef de Mission Sir Clive Woodward, with 24 British wintersports athletes competing across 10 different disciplines. He was interviewed by Tom Mallion, winner of the blogging competition ran by the Ski Club of Great Britain and the Tirol Tourist Board. Clive Woodward said, ‘It is important for the athletes to enjoy themselves and perform at their very, very best’. The full interview can be viewed here - http://youtu.be/g4JNy4u2gXw (credit: Tom Mallion/trademark productions)
Highlights from the weekend’s events include:
- France claimed the first gold medal of the competition. 16-year-old Estelle Alphand, daughter of the famous downhill skier Luc Alphand, took gold in the Women’s Super-G event. Team GB Rachelle Rogers spoke of her delight at taking part in the event – click here for the interview.
- Meanwhile in the Men’s Super-G event, gold was taken by Morocco’s only athlete in the Youth Olympic Games, Adam Lamhamedi. Team GB’s Paul Henderson finished 17th and was clearly honoured to be representing his country during his interview here.
- On Sunday, Team GB freestyle skier Katie Summerhayes finished 5th, competing in the new discipline of Halfpipe. The event saw Austria win their first gold of the competition, with Elisabeth Gram finishing with a total of 140 points.
- Olympic history was made on Saturday as the first ever Olympic women’s ski jumping event took place, where Sara Takanashi took gold for Japan.
The games will continue until Sunday 22nd January, with over 1000 young competitors, from more than 70 countries, aged between 14 and 18 in 63 medal competitions from biathlon to bobsleigh to downhill skiing and ice hockey. Spectators will have the chance to witness brand new events such as Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe, Snowboard Slopestyle and Women’s Ski Jumping – all part of the Olympic Games for the first time.
For more information visit www.innsbruck2012.com and to follow the games visit twitter.com/youtholympics
facebook.com/youtholympicgames
twitter.com/iocmedia
twitter.com/teambss (Team GB)
-ENDS-
For further information and images contact:
Becky Horton, Horton PR
becky.horton@hortonpr.co.uk; 020 8330 2143; 07766 738020
Holger Gassler, Marketing UK, Tirol Tourist Board
holger.gassler@tirolwerbung.at, Tel. +43.(0)512.5320.641
www.visittirol.co.uk; www.facebook.com/visittirol
