London 2012 Olympic Highlights

IOC Announces Olympic Highlights of the Week

On 15 May, IOC President Jacques Rogge was in Rome, where he met the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.

(PRWEB) May 17, 2012

IOC ACTIVITIES
PRESIDENT
On 15 May, IOC President Jacques Rogge was in Rome, where he met the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.

President Rogge then went to the Italian NOC headquarters to receive the “Giulio Onesti” Prize, awarded by Onesti Foundation, whose President is IOC member Franco Carraro. This Prize was presented to him by IOC Vice-President Mario Pescante, in the presence of other IOC members Ottavio Cinquanta and Francesco Ricci Bitti, IOC honorary member Manuela Di Centa as well as NOC President Gianni Petrucci and Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi.

On this occasion the “Giulio Onesti Lo Sport Italiano” book was officially presented, which was published to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the man who was President of the NOC and an IOC member.

MEMBERS
As President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Philip Craven received the Order of Friendship from acting Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Kozak, for his outstanding contribution to developing the Paralympic Movement. It was presented to him during a visit to Moscow and Sochi in the framework of the preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

OTHER NEWS
Collectors from across the world will be in Athens (Greece) from 17 to 20 May for the 18th World Olympic Collectors’ Fair. Organised by the IOC and the Greek NOC, the Fair will coincide with the ceremony to hand over the Olympic flame by the Greek NOC to the Organising Committee for the London Games, which will take place in the Panathinaiko Stadium on 17 May 2012.

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FEDERATIONS
SUMMER IFS
To mark the centenary of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Beijing (People’s Republic of China), which will host the 15th World Championships in 2015, organised a special event for young people on 13 May. Some 100 12 year-olds, split into 50 mixed teams of two runners, took part in a 100m relay race on a 50m track specially laid in the Central Piazza of the Olympic Park, in the shadow of the famous Bird’s Nest Stadium. This relay was organised jointly by the IAAF, Chinese Athletics Association, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports and Beijing Sports Competitions Administration Centre.

The 7th edition of the Women’s World Boxing Championships are being staged till 20 May in Qinhuangdao (People’s Republic of China), with a record number of participants (343) and countries represented (77). This International Boxing Association (AIBA) competition is also an Olympic qualifying tournament for three categories (flyweight, lightweight and middleweight).

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has just announced the death of Swiss gymnast Jean Tschabold on 29 April at the age of 86. Tschabold was a member of the Swiss “Dream Team” in the 1950s, coached by Arthur Gander, the “father” of the modern Code of Points and former FIG President. This team obtained the greatest victories for Switzerland of all time in artistic gymnastics, with a world championship title in Basle in 1950, a silver medal at the Helsinki Games in 1952, and a bronze medal at the worlds in Rome in 1954.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese city of Guangzhou and the Chinese Rugby Football Association. This MoU is designed to jointly foster the game and give structure to rugby’s growth in the Guangzhou region, with all parties giving their full commitment to making sure the game goes from strength to strength in one of rugby’s most exciting emerging markets.

With a little over two months until the London Games, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has confirmed the names of the 16 teams (eight men’s and eight women’s) who have qualified. Find out which athttp://www.fivb.org. There are still four places for both men’s and women’s teams to be allocated in the upcoming qualification tournaments.

WINTER IFS
From 27 May to 2 June, Kangwonland (Republic of Korea) will host the 48th International Ski Congress of the International Ski Federation (FIS). On the agenda is the election of the 16 members of the FIS Council for 2012-14. As at 1 May, the FIS member national associations had put forward 19 candidates.

NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES
Joachim Gauck, the recently elected President of the Federal Republic of Germany, has taken over the patronage of the German NOC and Sports Confederation. At a meeting with NOC President and IOC Vice-President Thomas Bach, the Head of State underlined the value-based policies and the full autonomy of the 28-million member organisation. He highlighted the great importance of sport for society and thanked Thomas Bach for the many activities linked to integration, health, education and tolerance.

The Chinese NOC has informed us that its President, Liu Peng, met IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr on 9 May. Their discussions focused on the London Games, China-Spain relations in the fields of sport and culture, the development of Olympism, and Sport for All. Some weeks beforehand, Chinese NOC Vice-President Yang Shu’an received British Immigration Minister Damien Green, with whom he addressed the issue of entry procedures as well as preparations for the 2012 Games and the Chinese Olympic delegation.

The NOC of the Cook Islands has just informed us of the death of its President, Geoffrey Henry, on 9 May in Takamoa, Rarotonga. He had also been Prime Minister and President of the Parliament of the Cook Islands.

At the end of April, the Guatemalan NOC organised a training workshop on the 3x3 basketball project run by two instructors from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Taking part in this were coaches, physical education teachers and referees representing 24 educational and sporting institutions. At the closing ceremony, NOC President Sergio Arnoldo Camargo Muralles underlined the importance of this project in the development of basketball at national level.

On 6 May, i.e. two days before the lighting of the 2012 Games flame at Olympia, the Olympic torch arrived in Israel for the very first time. TOP Partner Samsung delivered a torch, which was presented to the media in the presence of Israeli NOC President Zvi Varshaviak, Secretary General Efraim Zinger, Honorary Treasurer Arie Zeif and Samsung Marketing CEO Barack Fallachi. The torch was unveiled by Israel’s first Olympic medallist, judoka Yael Arad, and judoka Alice Schlesinger, who has qualified for London. The same day, the NOC organised Olympic Day in Haifa. The programme included a meeting between the NOC President and Secretary General, accompanied by five athletes from the Israeli delegation for London 2012, with pupils from two schools. The children were pleased to be photographed with the Olympic torch, specially brought to Haifa for this occasion. The day ended with a race in the city in which over 10,000 runners of all ages took part.

On 11 and 12 May, Italian NOC President Giovanni Petrucci and Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi welcomed Thomas Bach, on a visit to Rome for the World Modern Pentathlon Championships. Also present were IOC Vice-President Mario Pescante, IOC members Ottavio Cinquanta, Francesco Ricci Bitti, IOC honorary member Manuela Di Centa and the presidents of the baseball and bobsleigh IFs, Riccardo Fraccari and Ivo Ferriani respectively. Their discussions focused on the important dates in international sports policy and the London Games.

At the end of April in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), a continental seminar was held on the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP). The aim was to establish a strategic action plan for the region and review the challenges as regards the integration of the OVEP on a national level. Over 100 participants representing 35 NOCs were able to learn more about the OVEP Toolkit. The Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian NOC, Dato’ Sieh Kok Chi, welcomed the participants, followed by opening remarks from IOC Director of International Cooperation and Development Thomas A. Ganda Sithole, NOC Director General Husain Al Musallam and NOC Deputy President Dato’ A. Sani Karim. The themes of the five sessions were: the OVEP and a Sustainable Framework; Talking to Young People; Olympic Values Education – Education Through Olympism; Plan of Action; and Closing Summary.

The Mongolian NOC recently organised “Team Mongolia Introduction Day” in London. The Ambassador for Mongolia in London, B, Altangerel, the shooting and athletics teams, and several representatives from the NOC and the Mongolian community in London were present on this occasion. The aim of this event was to increase the involvement of Mongolians living in the UK to support the national team. So far, 29 Mongolian athletes have already qualified in seven sports.

TOP PARTNERS
Worldwide Olympic Partner Visa is inviting fans around the world to use social networks to “cheer” their favourite Team Visa athletes and to victory at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, by participating in the “Global Cheer” initiative. This initiative is the core of Visa’s Olympic Games-themed integrated marketing campaign, “Go World”.

RECOGNISED ORGANISATIONS
The Organising Committee of the “Sports Movies and TV 2012 - 30th International Festival” has declared that submissions to participate in the Festival are open. This Festival will take place from 5 to 9 December 2012 in Milan (Italy), at the end of 14 other festivals that will take place on the five continents. It will be placed under the slogan “FICTS Is Culture Through Sport”.

For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team.