POSTED: August 27th 2010
NewsUpdate
Olympian Katarina Witt looking to recapture YOG spirit for Munich 2018
LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications
TAMPA/MUNICH, Aug 27: Katarina Witt is looking forward to inspiring the world’s youth should the IOC choose Munich to host the 2018 Winter Games. Witt, chair of the Munich bid, remains the perfect heroine for many a budding ice skater after her own stellar career on Olympic ice.
The gold medallist was in Singapore to meet competitors at the Youth Olympic games and take notes on how Munich might engage with youth and local schools back home. Munich’s legacy to the youth of both Bavaria and Germany will feature as a strong point of the candidature file to be consigned to the IOC in January.
Witt said: “The entire bid committee and I are filled with admiration for what the IOC and the Singapore Organising Committee have achieved. Executing such an ambitious vision was a truly staggering accomplishment.
"But what made the Youth Olympic Games so special is the opportunity it has given an entire generation of young people to learn that being a champion is about so much more than medals.
“We, too, believe that it is about breaking down prejudices and bringing together young people from different cultures; about forging a sense of community that transcends international boundaries. Our goal is to stage an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 which instil these values in young people all over the world.”
Marlene Gomez-Islinger, a 17-year-old student from Weiden, Germany, offered her point of view from an aspiring athlete’s standpoint.
She said: “To me, training for the Olympic Games has always been a huge motivation. But even more than that, I’ve loved being part of a team of fellow students giving everything together. We may not have won all the medals we wanted but I’ve met people from all over the world and learnt some really valuable lessons. It has been great fun and we’ve got an amazing team spirit.”
Munich is competing with PyeongChang and Annecy to host the 2018 winter Olympics. The decision falls next July 6 in Durban.
Keywords · Katarina Witt · Munich 2018 · Winter Olympics
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