A group of 40 young athletes from 16 Olympic sports were today selected by the British Olympic Association to compete for Team GB at the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which take place in Singapore from 14-26 August.
The athletes, aged 14-18, will participate alongside 3,600 competitors from all 205 National Olympic Committees in a competition schedule which includes all 26 sports on the London 2012 Olympic Programme.
The British contingent will include 2009 World and 2008 European 10m platform diving champion Tom Daley, who was Team GB’s youngest competitor at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Alongside Daley in Team GB will be Victoria Ohuruogu, the 400m England Indoor Under-20 Champion and younger sister of current Olympic 400m Champion Christine.
Ohuruogu is joined in Team GB by 12 fellow athletics competitors, including fellow Londoner David Bolarinwa, who impressed at the recent European Youth Olympic Trials in Moscow where he won gold and silver in the 100m and 200m respectively to qualify in style for Singapore.
Gymnast Sam Oldham will be looking to continue his excellent form, which saw him achieve a hat-trick of gold medals at the European Junior Championships in Birmingham earlier this year.
Northern Ireland’s Mark Nesbitt will be going for gold in the archery competition, having claimed double gold for Team GB at the 2009 Australian Olympic Festival and silver at both the World and European Junior Championships in 2009. Earlier this year Nesbitt was GB’s highest placed archer, finishing sixth at the European Senior Championships.
“The International Olympic Committee is to be applauded for creating this inspirational youth event. The Youth Olympic Games raises the bar in terms of the delivery of educational and sport programmes to young people. It will be a celebration not only of sport, fitness and healthy lifestyles, but also of the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.” British Olympic Association Chairman Colin Moynihan.
On the tennis court Britain’s Oliver Goulding will be aiming to build on his excellent display at Wimbledon earlier this month which took him to the semi-final of the junior event. He is also a Junior Davis Cup finalist and is the current British under-18 number one.
The athletes will be joined in Singapore by 1,450 officials, 1,500 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers, and more than
370,000 spectators.
In creating the YOG, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.
The YOG will provide a balance between sport, education and culture. In addition to participating in their sport competitions, athletes will also take part in a Culture and Education Programme (CEP) – which includes 50 activities focused on five themes: Olympism, Skills Development, Well-being and Healthy Lifestyle, Social Responsibility and Expression.
“It’s a huge privilege to be taking such a talented group of young athletes to compete for Team GB at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. I’m confident that we will see some exciting performances and the athletes will display skill, determination and pride to achieve their personal best for Team GB in Singapore. “Importantly, the Youth Olympic Games are about more than just sporting competition. It will provide the young Team GB athletes with an excellent opportunity to participate in a multi-sport event, and experience living and competing with over 3,500 competitors from across the world.” Team GB Youth Olympic Games Chef de Mission Jan Paterson.
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