POSTED: Monday December 20th 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MUNICH 2018 SPORTS AMBASSADORS INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION

Winning weekend for Munich 2018 athletes who spread winter sports passion to youths

Munich, 20 December 2010: It was a busy weekend for Munich 2018's sports ambassadors, with Maria Riesch and Magdalena Neuner dominating Germany's 'Athlete of the Year Awards' last night, and other high profile bid ambassadors taking time to provide free skiing and snowboarding lessons to a thousand young people from disadvantaged backgrounds at the annual 'Schneefest' in Lenggries.

Munich 2018 ambassador and two-time Olympic gold medallist in alpine skiing, Maria Riesch, won Germany's 'Athlete of the Year' award and her fellow bid ambassador and two-time Olympic gold medallist in biathlon, Magdalena Neuner, was close behind in second place. Winter sport legend and 12-time Paralympic gold medallist, Verena Bentele, was awarded fourth place, with Munich 2018 sports ambassador and two-time Table Tennis world champion, Timo Boll, taking second place in the men's ranking. The prestigious awards were voted on by 1500 leading German sports journalists.

Germany's 2010 'Athlete of the Year', Maria Riesch, said:

'I am very proud to be part of this exclusive circle of German athletes of the year, and hope that in winning this prestigious award, I can help to bring the Olympic Winter Games not only to my home country, but to my home town which would be the greatest honour. Even if I retire from professional skiing before 2018, I will do everything in my power to ensure that we are awarded the chance to welcome the world to the heartland of winter sports, at the Winter Games in Munich in 2018.'

Meanwhile the next generation of Olympic stars, after Riesch and Neuner, were being nurtured as Munich 2018 sports ambassadors offered almost a thousand aspiring youths the chance to live out their dreams at the 4th annual 'Schneefest' winter festival in the Bavarian mountains. Children and teenagers had the opportunity to learn to snowboard with Olympic freestyle champion, Nicola Thost, or ski with Olympic downhill champion, Marina Kiehl, which all helped to spread excitement for the 2018 Winter Games at the event powered by BMW, a Munich 2018 national sponsor.

Bernhard Schwank, CEO of Munich 2018 Bid Committee, said:

'This was an extremely successful weekend for Munich 2018 sports ambassadors. Congratulations to Maria Riesch and her fellow sports ambassadors who have demonstrated Germany's passion for and commitment to winter sport that lies at the heart of our bid to host the 2018 Games. With the 'Schneefest', youngsters and teenagers from every background have had the opportunity to learn how to ski and snowboard with their idols, creating memories that will last a lifetime. This highlights Munich 2018's ambition to leave an immense legacy for Bavaria, Germany and the whole of the Olympic Movement.'

Nicola Thost emphasised the pivotal role that hosting winter sports events can play in the development of youth. She said:

'The 'Schneefest' gives young people a fantastic opportunity to make their first skiing or snowboarding memory in what could be a life filled with winter sports experiences if Munich wins the chance to host the Games in 2018. It is exciting to be part of an event as a representative of Munich 2018 and an honour to be given the opportunity to introduce young people to winter sports and nurture the next generation of athletes and perhaps, future Olympic or Paralympic Champions.'

Harald Krüger, Director of Human Resources at the BMW Group, said:

'Children and teenagers are the future of our society and through collaboration with Munich 2018 we are delighted to be able to contribute to the development of the next generation of winter sports athletes in our region. Sports play such a vital role in everyday life and we want to do our part to advance accessibility in our home town for young people, in order to strengthen the Munich bid to host the Winter Games in 2018.'

Munich 2018 was on hand at the 'Schneefest' in Lenggries this weekend, as part of a large team of skiing instructors, bus operators, ski-lift operators, and volunteers in the ski industry, who worked together to create a safe and fun environment for young people to enjoy the unique winter sports experience Bavaria has to offer.

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Picture 1

https://www.muenchen2018.org/files/schneefest.jpg

A thousand young people show support for Munich 2018 after free skiing and snowboarding lessons from bid ambassadors, Nicola Thost and Marina Kiehl at the 'Schneefest' in Bavaria
Copyright: picture-alliance

Background
Munich, in collaboration with Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgadener Land, is applying to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The application will be put together and managed by Bewerbungsgesellschaft München 2018 GmbH, whose management is chaired by Bernhard Schwank and whose managing director is Jürgen Bühl. Shareholders in the application organisation are the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) with 51 per cent, the City of Munich (30 per cent), the Free State of Bavaria (nine per cent), the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (eight per cent) and the district of Berchtesgadener Land (two per cent). The bid is being supported by national sponsors the Adidas, Allianz, BMW Group, BayWa, Flughafen München GmbH, Lotto Bayern, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the Sparkasse Finance Group, along with national suppliers ARGE (Albert Speer & Partner and PROPROJEKT), Deloitte, Getty Images, GfK Verein, IMMO 2018, Messe München GmbH, Norton Rose LLP, Munich Olympic Park, pilot sport and Stadtwerke München GmbH. More information about the concept, the progress of the application and many other aspects can be found at http://www.muenchen2018.org.

Bewerbungsgesellschaft München 2018 GmbH
Munich 2018 Bid Committee
Olympiapark München
Spiridon-Louis-Ring 21
80809 München

Responsible for contents:
Bernhard Schwank and Jürgen Bühl

Press Contact:
Simone Seefried
Agnes-Pockels-Bogen 1
80992 München
Telephone: +49 89 540428-313
Mobile: +49 176 840 532 26

E-Mail: presse@muenchen2018.org

Online Press Area:
http://www.muenchen2018.org/en/press

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Keywords · Munich 2018 · winter Games · Olympic Bidding · Bernhard Schwank · Katarina Witt

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Name: Simone Seefried
Organization: Munich 2018 Bid Committee
Email:
Phone: +49 89 540428-313
URL: http://www.muenchen2018.org

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