South African superstar Chad le Clos was part of a group of Youth Olympic Games Ambassadors that met with IOC President Thomas Bach in Sochi to discuss their experiences and their ideas for the future of the Youth Olympic Games. le Clos was joined by figure skater Yuna Kim from South Korea and skiers Adam Lamhamedi of Morocco, Australian Greta Small and Katie Summerhayes of Great Britain.
Bach wants the Youth Olympic Games to be “by young people for young people.” To ensure that happens he wanted to know the athletes’ experience when they competed in the Games as well as their ideas on how the Games could inspire youth that are not involved in sport.
At the end of the meetings he commended the athletes for their willingness to be involved in the process and the example they are providing for youth, “It is one of the objectives of the YOG to equip young athletes with the knowledge and skills to be ambassadors in their own communities, and you are shining examples of this,” Bach told Olympic.org.
When le Clos was nominated as an ambassador in August he made it clear that the Youth Olympic Games were an incredible experience and had a huge influence on his development as an athlete,“The Youth Olympic Games were a huge stepping stone for me and helped me enormously in preparing for the pressures of my first Olympic Games in London,” said le Clos
le Clos won five medals (one gold, three silver and one bronze) at the inaugural games in 2010.
“But more than the sport, the memories and friends that I made will last forever.”
le Clos has said that his experience at the YOG gave him the confidence he needed to go on to become a Commonwealth and Olympic Champion.
He also expressed the same desire as Bach to see the YOG inspire the communities that host the event and for the athletes to truly be enriched by their experience, “Not only can the local youth get an insight into our sports but we can create bonds with the general public. People competing can get to know the local people and cultures.”
As the YOG evolves and grows the le Clos and the other ambassadors made it clear that the first priority of the event always needs to be about giving young athletes the opportunity to compete at a high level, “We don’t want to make it too much a festival environment as the YOG still have to be serious,” said Chad.
“We need that Olympic spirit. Have some fun elements, but we want to get to the business end of competition as well.”
The 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanjing from August 16th-28th. le Clos will be at the Games to support and educate the young athletes who will be participating.
Rocking out the goggles around neck look!
Please tell me I wasn’t the only one who skimmed the headlines and thought LeClos was sitting down with the IOC to discuss yoga?
OK, just me then. *whistles*