KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA
The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.
IOC / ARNAUD MEYLAN
LAST YEAR, THE IOC ANNOUNCED A GROUND-BREAKING GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP WITH TOYOTA TO PROVIDE INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT IN LINE WITH OLYMPIC AGENDA 2020, THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP FOR THE FUTURE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT, WHICH HAS SUSTAINABILITY AS ONE OF ITS THREE KEY PILLARS.
Beginning in 2017, Toyota will work with the IOC, organisers of the Olympic Games, and National Olympic Committees around the world to deliver sustainable mobility solutions.
Today, the newest Worldwide TOP Partner delivered a new fleet of hybrid cars for the IOC administration. The vehicles use Toyota’s latest hybrid technology, combining the benefits of gasoline engines and electric motors to provide sustainable mobility solutions.
IOC President Thomas Bach received the cars from Mr Philippe Rhomberg, CEO of Toyota Switzerland AG, at the IOC’s Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
IOC
After receiving the cars IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This is another step in this exciting partnership, and I am particularly delighted about the new hybrid cars, which is another clear demonstration of the IOC’s commitment towards sustainability. I would like to thank Mr Akio Toyoda for his great personal commitment and Mr Rhomberg and his team here in Switzerland, as well as the fleet team in Toyota Motor Europe based in Brussels, for their support in implementing this programme.”
THIS IS ANOTHER STEP IN THIS EXCITING PARTNERSHIP, AND I AM PARTICULARLY DELIGHTED ABOUT THE NEW HYBRID CARS, WHICH IS ANOTHER CLEAR DEMONSTRATION OF THE IOC’S COMMITMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY.Thomas BachIOC PRESIDENT
Toyota Switzerland’s CEO Mr Philippe Rhomberg confirmed: “We are very proud of the partnership with the IOC, and I would personally like to thank IOC President Thomas Bach and his team in bringing the start of this journey to life. Their vision of creating a better world through sport is a perfect match for Toyota's philosophy. Every day, we make every effort to provide even better mobility solutions for society through respect, teamwork and the pursuit of continuous improvement - in the true spirit of the Toyota Way.”
Toyota also wants to use the partnership to truly embrace the spirit of the Games in its day-to-day business. When announcing the partnership in March 2015, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda said: "We will do everything possible to fulfil our new role in The Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme, and justify the trust the IOC has placed in us. The addition of a mobility category to the TOP Partner field is an important recognition for our entire industry. Under this Olympic flag, let us today reaffirm the power of sport to bring people together. And let us dedicate ourselves to creating a better world by promoting sport in the Olympic spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."
Toyota will support the entire Olympic Movement in the mobility category, which includes vehicles, mobility services and mobility solutions. It will provide sustainable mobility solutions for the Olympic Games to help with low-emission, safer, more efficient mobility, including intelligent transport systems, urban traffic systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems.
IOC
Toyota will also support the entire Olympic Movement through funding and a global promotional reach. Under the IOC’s management, the TOP Programme supports the National Olympic Committees and the Organising Committees, helping ensure that the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement are truly global. The IOC redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.25 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.
KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA
The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.
OLYMPIC CHANNEL
PREPARE TO BE INSPIRED WITH THE OLYMPIC CHANNEL ANIMATED SPECIAL CAMBODIA’S SEARCH FOR GLORY WHICH FEATURES SORN SEAVMEY AS SHE TRIES TO WIN HER COUNTRY’S FIRST-EVER OLYMPIC MEDAL IN TAEKWONDO.
Through a mix of archival and live footage combined with colourful animation, the half-hour special tells the story of Sorn Seavmey from working at a garment factory with her mother to creating Olympic history for Cambodia. Her story has become a national source of pride and is changing the perception of sports and women in Cambodia.
Seavmey, whose father died when she was a child, was raised by her mother who, like most Cambodian women, worked at a garment factory where Seavmey also took a job. She then found her talent in Taekwondo and under the tutelage of Korean taekwondo master, Choi Yong Sok, went on to accomplish historic feats at the Asian Games and Olympic Games.
Known as “Cambodia’s Golden Girl”, Seavmey, 21, became the country’s first-ever athlete to qualify outright for the Olympic Games after winning gold at the 2016 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament. She is an Olympic Solidarity scholarship recipient and served as Cambodia’s flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The Olympic Channel is a ground-breaking multi-platform destination where fans can experience the power of sport and the excitement of the Olympic Games all year round, and is available worldwide via mobile apps for Android and iOS devices and at olympicchannel.com.
KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA
The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.
FOLLOWING THE PUBLICATION OF THE COMPLETED WADA INDEPENDENT PERSON (IP) REPORT ON 9 DECEMBER 2016, THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT 28 RUSSIAN ATHLETES* WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES SOCHI 2014 ARE NOW SUBJECT TO A DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE.
The IOC is initiating disciplinary cases against all 28 athletes for whom there is evidence of manipulation of one or more of their urine samples that were collected at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, as detailed in the IP report earlier in December.
Prof. McLaren had investigated 95 samples of Russian athletes provided to him by the IOC. They led to the 28 athletes with evidence of sample manipulation. They have now been repatriated back to the Lausanne Anti-Doping Laboratory, and re-analysis has already begun on these samples looking for any Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs).
At this point in time, these 28 new cases are not AAFs, like a positive doping test. However, the manipulation of the samples themselves could lead to an Anti-Doping Rule Violation and sanctions.
“This is the immediate follow-up to Professor McLaren’s Report. The IOC will go beyond the findings of the IP Report by re-analysing all the samples of all the Russian athletes who participated in the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 as well as all those who participated in the Olympic Games London 2012,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.
As of now, 27 Russian athletes have already been sanctioned by the IOC as a result of the IOC’s own re-analysis programme for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 and London 2012, which began prior to the Olympic Games Rio 2016, and is still ongoing (for London). The IOC will also re-analyse all samples from Russian athletes at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010.
The protection of clean athletes and the fight against doping are top priorities for the IOC, as outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.
* Please note that for legal reasons the IOC cannot currently give more detailed information on the cases. This will follow in due course.
KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA
The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.
FIRST-EVER REFUGEE OLYMPIC TEAM SENDS MESSAGE OF HOPE
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, A TEAM OF REFUGEE ATHLETES COMPETED AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016, SENDING A MESSAGE OF HOPE AND INCLUSION TO THE MILLIONS OF REFUGEES AROUND THE WORLD.
Their participation was also an important signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and an enrichment to society.
This video tells the story of how this team of ten refugee athletes made Olympic history, inspiring the world with the strength of their human spirit.
KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA
The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.
2016 GETTY IMAGES
AT JUST 146CM TALL, US GYMNAST SIMONE BILES TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST STARS OF RIO 2016. APPEARING AT HER FIRST OLYMPIC GAMES, THE TEENAGER FINISHED WITH FOUR OUT OF THE FIVE GOLD MEDALS IN HER SIGHTS, AND DAZZLED AUDIENCES WITH HER SUBLIME SKILLS.
In and out of foster care from an early age, the youngster was eventually adopted by her maternal grandfather and his wife. Shrugging off her early hardships and applying herself to artistic gymnastics with hard work and perseverance, she has gone on to prove in recent years – and no more so than in Rio - that “dreams do come true”.
Since her breakthrough at the World Championships in Antwerp in 2013, Biles has soared to stardom with a record 10 world titles. And she got her first ever Games underway by spearheading the US team that took gold in the team all-around event. Finishing a massive 8.209 points clear of Russia and China, the Americans blew away the competition to retain their title.
By the time Biles stepped up to do her floor routine, the destination of the gold was already clear, there was no sense of anti-climax as she thrilled the crowd with a stunning display set to Brazilian music and scored an incredible 15.800.
Two days later she took the individual all-around title prompting words of congratulations from Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci, who described her victory as “a beautiful success.”
On 14 August, the American teenager secured her third gold medal, this time in the vault. The last to compete, Biles scored 15.966 which was enough to deliver her title on this apparatus. A day later Biles made her only lapse in Rio, when she ceded gold in the beam to Dutchwoman Sanne Wevers. An uncharacteristic slip saw her slip into the bronze medal position.
However, her best was still to come. Biles secured her fourth gold medal in style with a brilliant performance on the mat. Biles stormed to gold with a near-perfect performance and a score of 15.966, thanks to a samba-influenced routine that showcased her power, agility and creativity, and sent the Rio crowd wild.
Her final gold saw the little Texan enter the history books by equalling the record of four titles won at the same Games that has been achieved by four gymnasts – the Soviet Union’s Larissa Latynina and Hungary’s Agnes Keleti in 1956, Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska in 1968 and Romania’s Ecaterina Szabo in 1984. Not only does she join this quartet in the record books, but also in the pantheon of Olympic greats.
With typical understatement and modesty, Biles summed up her Rio experience as follows: “My first Olympics and I’ve walked away with five medals, that's not disappointing at all.”
KALYAN KUMAR MAHATA
The true appellation of Apu. A Creative Commons license.
IOC/CAMPBELLBEING PHYSICALLY READY TO COMPETE IS CRUCIAL FOR ANY ATHLETE SEARCHING FOR SUCCESS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR SPORT; AND STAYING TRUE TO A COMPREHENSIVE STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING PROGRAMME IS AT THE HEART OF THIS.
But what is a strength and conditioning (S&C) programme? In this latest video, Young Ambassadors Scott Kneller (AUS) and Panagiota Tsakiri (GRE), both winter Olympians themselves, explore what S&C means and delve deeper into the key aims of S&C as we get advice from some of the best on how to develop an S&C programme that works for you.
Want to go further? You can also find some great tips and advice on the Athlete Learning Gateway.
