First ever Youth Olympics a success
Still only half way through its first ever summer version, and two years away from its first winter version, the Youth Olympic Games is receiving interest from many countries. The IOC has stated that up to 17 countries have expressed their interest in hosting future Games. The list includes cities from the United States, Africa, and Latin America.
Singapore is hosting this year’s summer games, which began on 14 August and will end on 26 August. Innsbruck Austria will host the 2012 winter games, and Nanjing, China will host the 2014 summer games. So far Lillehammer, Norway is the only city that has expressed interest in hosting the 2016 winter games. Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics and has until November to formally submit a bid.
Cities such as Lillehammer, that have hosted previous Olympic Games, are looking to host future Youth Games. They have much of the infrastructure in place from previous Games, and are unlikely choices for future Olympic Games. Some smaller cities, with smaller budgets, that have little hope of hosting Olympic Games in the first place, are also excited to have the opportunity to host the Youth Olympics.
"It gives them a chance to participate, to take part in the whole Olympic ideal," said Mark Adams, IOC spokesman. "That is why there is interest from cities which would probably never have thought of getting involved and could never see themselves as serious contenders for staging an Olympic event."
Despite having sold out, many venues are not full, but IOC President Jacques Rogge is still pleased with the success of the Youth Olympics so far. Considering the competition is young, it is fitting that the Youth Olympics are having great success with their social media campaign. The official YouTube channel has had over 4 million views, more than the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and the Youth Olympics Twitter account has 3,500 followers. They also have a successful Facebook profile.
Unlike the standard Olympics, the athletes are expected to stay in the host city for the duration of the Games. They are also expected to participate in the Culture and Education Programme developed by the Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee.
"So far everything is going smoothly and we've been very pleased with the organization, the competition and the non-sport activities," stated Rogge. "While it is impossible to provide a full assessment of the Games until after they're over, so far we are very satisfied."
The closing ceremonies will happen Thursday at Marina Bay Floating Platform.
Highlights of the Youth Games so far include Odane Skeen of Jamaica, who ran the 100m in 10.42sec and Yuka Sato of Japan, who won the first gold medal of the Games in the triathlon. China currently leads all countries with 49 medals, 28 of them gold medals. 17-year old, Tang Yi, of China, has won six gold medals and has been the most successful individual athlete of the Games.
There was some controversy on 16 August when Iran pulled Mohammed Soleimani from a gold medal match against Israel’s Gili Maimovitz in the under-48-kilogram taekwondo category. Iranian officials stated that Soleimani had an injured ankle, an injury that first occurred at the World Junior Championships in Mexico earlier this year. Israel felt that the withdrawal was a political move and Iran has previously stated that its policy is to withdraw from competing against Israel. Soleimani’s was taken for an x-ray which showed that the ankle was not broken but IOC spokesman, Mark Adams, explained that the IOC does not feel there is a sinister intent and that the controversy is just speculation.
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