IOC appointed head of Youth Olympic Games
14/08/2007 |
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French sports administrator and consultant Essar Gabriel has been appointed head of the Youth Olympic Games.
The International Olympic Committee said Monday the 41-year-old Gabriel would begin work on Sept. 1 to organize the inaugural event, which will take place in 2010 and feature athletes aged 14-18.
Gabriel will report to Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of the Olympic Games.
Gabriel was director general of the world track and field championships in Paris in 2003 and chief operating officer of the French capital's unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Olympics. He has been working as a consultant on Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics, but will now have to leave that post.
The Youth Olympics, the brainchild of IOC president Jacques Rogge, were endorsed by the IOC at its general assembly in Guatemala City last month. The idea is to encourage young people to get involved in sports and spend less time in front of computer and television screens.
The IOC opened the bidding process last Friday for the inaugural event. The IOC will choose the host city by postal vote in February 2008. The first Winter Youth Olympics will be held in 2012.
(Source: www.iht.com)
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