政府新闻
国际奥委会主席表示上海的奥运资格赛为未来资格赛设立了新标杆 2024-05-19
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach attends cycling BMX freestyle women's park final at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai, May 18, 2024.
The Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) in Shanghai is definitely a benchmark for future Olympic Qualifiers, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said last Saturday.
Bach made the remarks after the cycling BMX freestyle women's park final, as he witnessed Chinese cyclists Sun Sibei, Sun Jiaqi and Deng Yawen sweeping the podium in front of a packed home crowd.
"It's a fantastic start for this Olympic Qualifier Series and I can only thank and congratulate China and Shanghai for such a wonderful performance," Bach said. "A great result and congratulate the Chinese Olympic Committee for having a clean sweep."
"Definitely that's a benchmark and I guess that our Hungarian friends will be a little bit nervous after what they see here with such a perfect organization, with such a beautiful venue and with such an excited crowd," Bach joked.
Bach speaks during an interview with Xinhua after the final.
Running from May 16 to 19, 464 athletes, evenly divided between men and women, are competing in BMX freestyle cycling, breaking, skateboarding, and sport climbing at the newly-renovated Huangpu Riverside venue.
Along with the second leg in Budapest, Hungary from June 20 to 23, the inaugural OQS is the last chance for athletes to vie for over 150 quota places for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
"[The four sports] are different on one side, but they are also representing the Olympic values in a modern way. And this is why we took them on the program," Bach introduced.
"You can see here in these young and modern sports, a real community of being together. And this is what the Olympic values and the Olympic spirit is about - having this tough competition but also being friends and respecting each other."
Sun Jiaqi, Sun Sibei and Deng Yawen (L to R) of China celebrate on the podium during the award ceremony of cycling BMX freestyle women's park.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has consistently innovated the Olympic program in recent years. Beginning with the introduction of baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, climbing, and surfing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the IOC has been adding younger, more urban, and gender-balanced sports. Breakdancing and ski mountaineering will also be included in the upcoming Paris Olympics and Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, respectively.
"That is offering the younger generation their sports in the Olympic program. We have these new and younger sports on the program and these new young sports have a worldwide stage which otherwise they would not have," Bach said of some of the sports that originated from the streets.
"What we saw in the last Olympic Games and what we are seeing here today, is how good these two communities, the more traditional Olympic community and athletes, and these new sports and athletes are getting together, enriching each other," he added.
Source: Xinhua
