IOC – Four basketball legends named among 36 Athlete Role Models for Youth Olympic Games

LAUSANNE (Youth Olympic Games) – Legendary basketball players Andrew Gaze and Michelle Timms from Australia, Oscar Schmidt from Brazil and Alexandar Djordjevic from Serbia have been named among the Athlete Role Models (ARMs) for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 August in Singapore.

This prestigious list, which features legendary sportsmen and women from all sports being played in Singapore, were appointed by the International Federations and the IOC Athletes’ Commission and announced by the IOC in a press release on Tuesday.

ARMs will be in Singapore to mentor the 3,600 young athletes who are expected to attend the Youth Olympic Games. Among other activities, the ARMs will spend time with the athletes and will participate in activities during the Culture and Education Programme, which will focus on five themes: Olympism and Olympic values, skill development, well-being and healthy lifestyles, social responsibility and expression through digital media.

Athletes at the Youth Olympic Games will be encouraged to engage in conversation with the ARMs, who will attend the competitions, visit the Youth Olympic Village and feature in “Chat with Champions” forums designed to inspire and educate the participants with personal accounts of their own dreams and experiences, and the challenges they have overcome.

The basketball ARMs will also oversee the launching of the new 3on3 basketball format and participate in the skills challenges, which will provide additional entertainment as part of the 3on3 philosophy.

Sergey Bubka, an Olympic gold medal-winning pole vaulter and Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games, said he is delighted to be an Athlete Role Model and is impressed by the line-up put together by the International Federations and Athletes’ Commission. “These are not just great athletes the International Federations have chosen, these are also inspirational people. I am sure the young athletes will enjoy being around them, and they will learn a great deal about what it takes to be a top athlete and live by the Olympic values.”

Here is the complete list of ARMs:

Archery, Wietse van Alten - NED
Athletics, Wilson Kipketer - DEN
Badminton, Poul Erik HoyerLarsen - DEN
Badminton, Xu Huaiwen - GER
Basketball, Andrew Gaze - AUS
Basketball, Oscar Schmidt - BRA
Basketball, Alexandar Djordjevic - SER
Basketball - Michelle Timms - AUS
Boxing, Domenico Valentino - ITA
Canoeing, Tony Estanguet - FRA
Cycling, Frédéric Magné - FRA
Equestrian, Lisen Bratt - SWE
Fencing, Valentina Vezzali - ITA
Football, TBC
Gymnastics, Jani Tanskanen - FIN
Judo, Ruben Houkes - NED
Handball, TBC
Hockey, Andrew Smith - AUS
Modern Pentathlon, Georgina Harland - GBR
Rowing, Lenka  Wech - GER
Sailing, Michael Gebhardt - USA
Shooting, Matthew Emmons - USA
Diving, Guo Jingjing - CHN
Table Tennis, Jean-Philippe Gatien - FRA
Taekwondo, Daniel Trenton - AUS
Tennis, Ai Sugiyama - JPN
Triathlon, Hamish Carter - NZL
Weightlifting, Pawina Thongsuk - THA
Wrestling, Daniel Robin - FRA
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Robert Balk - USA
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Claudia Bokel - GER
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Sergey Bubka - UKR
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Charmaine Crooks - CAN
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Hicham El Guerrouj - MAR
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Rania Elwani - EGY
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Frank Fredericks - NAM
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Barbara Kendall - NZL
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Yumilka Ruiz Luaces - CUB
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Dae Sung Moon - KOR
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Adam Pengilly - GBR
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Alexander Popov - RUS
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Angela Ruggiero - USA
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Rebecca Scott - CAN
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Peter Tallberg - FIN
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Pedro Yang - GUA
 IOC Athletes’ Commission, Yang Yang - CHN

FIBA