POSTED: Tuesday August 24th 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PyeongChang Completes Practice Tracks for Sledding Events

The sledding sports will be held at the main Alpensia cluster area.

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA, 24 August 2010: The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid Committee today announced that the construction of practice facilities for sledding sports events (bobsleigh, luge, skeleton) have been completed.

The newly completed facilities include one bobsleigh/skeleton starting track (120m long, 3m wide), one luge starting track (110m long, 1.5m wide) and one venue that accommodates athlete locker rooms and a video analysis room that can help measure performances.

The facilities were completed within one year with an investment of 1 billion South Korean Won (approximately 850,000 USD), and the project received technical advice from experts around the world including the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT) Skeleton Director Heinz Thoma.

Senior figures who attended the ceremony to celebrate the completion of the facilities included Secretary General DoBong Ha and Sports Director Kwang-bae Kang of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee, Acting Governor of Gangwon Province Ki-Chang Kang, Mayor of PyeongChang Seok Rae Lee, FIBT President Robert Storey, President of the Korean Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation Kyung-Hoon Lee, and a number of sledding event athletes.

Robert Storey, FIBT President said: "It is an honour to be here today to mark the opening of these facilities and a meaningful development for our sport in this region. These facilities are compact and specifically designed to meet the needs of the athletes and we look forward to seeing world-class performances from them on the international stage in years to come."

Kwang-bae Kang, PyeongChang 2018 Sports Director and Korea's Bobsleigh Team Coach said: "We are delighted that the new world class practice tracks for sledding events have been completed. With the substantial investment made in the facilities, we can offer our sledding athletes the very best chance to improve their performances and help a new generation of participants take up these winter sports."

DoBong Ha, Secretary General of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee said: "The investment we have made to build these new sledding sports facilities shows PyeongChang's commitment to staging the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018, and that we are delivering on our promises to the IOC and the Olympic Family. This investment will also provide us with the momentum to inspire more young people to participate in sledding disciplines, help develop their skills, and grow further interest in winter sports."

-ENDS-

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The city of PyeongChang in Gangwon Province, South Korea is bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018. The city's bid is managed by the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid Committee, a non-profit organisation that was established on 14 September 2009. The Chairman and CEO of the Bid Committee is Yang Ho Cho, who is also Chairman of Korean Air. Additional members of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee include representatives from all levels of national and local government, the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), the Korean Paralympic Committee (KPC), winter sports athletes and para-athletes, and private businesses. The election of the Host City of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games will take place during the 123rd International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Durban, South Africa on 6 July 2011.

For further information about PyeongChang's bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, please visit http://www.pyeongchang2018.org

For further information:

Catherine St-Laurent

cstlaurent@verocom.co.uk

M: +44.759.504.9682

Sujit Jasani

sjasani@verocom.co.uk

M: +44.794.037.5282

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Keywords · PyeongChang 2018 bid · Olympic bids · Yang Ho Cho · DoBong Ha · Kwang-bae Kang · Robert Storey

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Name: Catherine St-laurent
Organization: PyeongChang 2018
Email:
Phone: +44.759.504.9682
URL: http://www.pyeongchang2018.org

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