The IOC kicks off its first Olympic-style event for juniors in Singapore
BY DWIGHT NORMILE
WHEN the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced plans in 2007 for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG), gymnastics fans thought hey were in for a rare treat. For the first time a global event promised to showcase the world’s
top junior gymnasts—which, for females, often means the very
best, period.
As the Youth Olympics makes its debut in Singapore from
Aug. 14-26, the results somehow seem less important than the
event’s ground-breaking precedent. But even though the IOC
designed the multi-sport event to provide international experience for 14- to 18-year-old athletes, the success of these YOG
will still be partly measured on the strength of the competition
itself.
Due to organizational decisions, the gymnastics field might not
be as strong as fans would have liked. In an effort to keep costs
down, the IOC placed strict limits on
overall participation numbers, and
each national Olympic committee
(NOC) received a certain quota of offi-
cials to accompany its athletes.
“Obviously, this is difficult when it
comes to disciplines like gymnastics,
where the participation is limited to
one athlete per discipline,” says
Philippe Silacci of the International
Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
