Ski Champion Kevin Rolland Named Ambassador for 2012 Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games

World Ski Champion Kevin Rolland has been revealed as the latest ambassador for the 2012 Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Kevin Rolland, therapy a FIS Freestyle World Ski champion from France, medic joins the ranks of Kim and Alpine skiers Lindsey Vonn and Benjamin Raich to mentor young athletes for Innsbruck 2012 coming up January 13-22 of next year.

Rolland was thrilled at the opportunity, buy cialis “It’s a great honour to be part of the first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games and to share the responsibility of being an Ambassador with such a fantastic group of athletes.

“The values of the Olympic Games have always been important to me and with ski halfpipe now on the Olympic programme I can finally realise my dream of becoming an Olympian at Sochi 2014. I hope my story helps inspire the young athletes going to Innsbruck 2012 to reach for their dreams and to make the most of the unique opportunities the Youth Olympic Games have to offer.”

IOC President Jacques Rogge launched the YOG back in 2007 and the first summer edition successfully took place last summer in Singapore.

Rogge proclaimed, “Kevin is a gifted athlete who embodies the passion and energy of his sport and I am certain he will have a huge impact on the athletes he comes in contact with as Youth Olympic Games Ambassador. Kevin can surely lead by example as a young man of 22 who has already been at the pinnacle of freestyle skiing for a number of years.”

He is also excited about holding the YOG in Austria’s legendary sport city Innsbruck and said, “I am very optimistic of the staging in Innsbruck for many reasons. First of all because the Austrian people love their winter sports and they know everything about them. Innsbruck is a unique setting, a wonderful city full of history and culture and also with a unique concentration of sport venues. And also we can rely on their glory of organizing in a superb way the 1964 and 1976 winter Games.”

The YOG will gather 1,000 top athletes between the ages of 15 and 18 from 65 countries competing in seven sports just as the Olympic Winter Games program for Sochi 2014.  A total of 63 events will be up for medals in 15 disciplines. New events this time will be ski halfpipe, snowboard slopestyle and women’s ski jumping.