International Olympic Committee : News

Lindsey Vonn shares top advice at Innsbruck 2012

1/23/2012 5:30:00 PM

It was a special moment last week when YOG Ambassador and Olympic Champion Lindsey Vonn stopped by the athlete’s village at the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games to have a face-to-face chat with the competing athletes. The floor was open to all of their questions and Lindsey had the crowd captivated with her sound words of advice.

Accompanied by former USA team mate, ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero, Lindsey started the question and answer session by saying “You sacrifice a lot, but you’re gaining more!”

Lindsey who has won 47 World Cup races and competed in three Olympic Winter Games talked about how she started out and her passion for skiing from an early age, “I always wanted be an Olympian since I was 9 years old, and everybody thought I was insane.” Her hero, she said, was Picabo Street who she described as her ‘role model’, “I met her when I was 9 and she was the reason I started working hard and that really pushed me to where I am now.”

Lindsey also talked about the ups and downs that all athletes will face over the course of their career as she recalled how she crashed during training in 2006 at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin. “I first thought it was the worst thing in the world and I thought I was never going to ski again, but I came out of it and raced again two days later (in the super-G). Then I really realized how lucky I am to be able to do what I do. I learned from a negative experience. That was a turning point for me. I committed myself even more to the sport and started to work even harder.”

That hard work and dedication finally paid off at Vancouver 2010 where she won an Olympic gold medal for the first time. “At Vancouver I was actually the least nervous I had ever been,” she said. “I felt like, this is it, I didn’t question it and just trusted myself.

That was weird because in other Olympic Games, I was so nervous and shaking and just didn’t know what to do with myself.” She expressed that the Youth Olympic Games will prepare athletes to deal with ups and downs and the pressures of international competition, “This is really a unique chance to be able to be on a world stage and figure out how you can compete well in a high-pressure situation.”

Top advice Lindsey!

Lindsey cooks up a storm at Innsbruck 2012

1/20/2012 6:21:00 PM

Lindsey Vonn likes to mix thing up when she comes to town, especially at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck. After cheering on the men at the giant slalom finals, she headed straight down the mountain and into the kitchen as part of the ‘Be the Chef’ workshop to whip up a Thai veggie soup with the young athletes. The workshop is to teach the young athletes how to cook healthy balanced meals to prepare them for competition.

The head chef put her straight to work by chopping up lots of fresh veggies whilst the other athletes were busy blending and mixing, accompanied by legendary athlete Frankie Fredericks! Then hey presto… a delicious nutritious meal ready for all to share!

It is not the first time that Lindsey showed us what she can do in a kitchen - check out this video.

The fans behind the YOG athletes

1/19/2012 6:55:00 PM

What is a sports fan?

According to some, it is a complex matter, partly irrational but not unworthy, a relief from the seriousness of the real world, with its unending pressures and often grave obligations.

Put simply: sport, in all reality, means nothing; so in all reality it means everything.

So what would sport be without its fans?

Pretty boring, that's what.

No matter where you go, regardless of the venue, you will always see them. They are the first in and the first out, brightly clad and shouting even louder. They live and die with each passing moment, celebrating the victory when their hero wins and crying when they lose.

Truth be told, if sport was a human body, the fans would be its heart. At the Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic Games it’s no different.

"I have been to 13 Olympic Games, three World Cups, one Pan-American Games, one Asian Games and two Youth Olympic Games," said Bud Lidell, an American supporter and self-proclaimed "biggest fan at the YOG".

Karen Gruber of Germany was also fired up to be at the YOG. "I'm looking forward to seeing the figure skating," she said, her face intricately painted in black, red and yellow. "I am here to support my team and I hope they do well."

Natalie Noumeh of Belarus was also happy to be in Innsbruck. "i think we have around 15 athletes at the YOG, so I'm hoping we can win a medal," she said. Austrian Franz Ager said he was happy to have the Games back in his home town after Innsbruck played host to the Winter Games in 1964 and 1976.

"I was 20 in 1976 and I visited many different competitions. The Youth Olympic Games are now a new thing, and it is good that the Games are still here in Innsbruck. We welcome the world with open arms."

Kevin Rolland: This is ski halfpipe

1/10/2012 2:36:00 PM

In just four days, the exhilarating, mind-blowing and awe-inspiring event of ski halfpipe will make its debut on an Olympic programme as part of the Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic Games. And who better to give you the lowdown on this new Olympic event than the King of Style himself, Mr Kevin Rolland?

With the help of his trusty sidekick, Yoggl, the YOG Ambassador - who hopes to compete in the event at the Sochi Games in 2014 – shows us a few tricks of his trade (quite literally) and explains what it takes to be the best!

Check out the next generation of ski freestylers by following the YOG on YouTube here.

A day in the life of YOG Ambassador Kevin Rolland

1/6/2012 2:47:00 PM

YOG Ambassador Kevin Rolland may be the ski half pipe world champion but he still has to go to work every day.

Yes, his office might be the snowy pistes, his briefcase a pair of skis and his meetings held on top of the world, but he still has work commitments like the rest of us.

In this YOG video, Kevin gives us an exclusive look into a day in the life of a world-class skier, and, after watching it, we are now considering switching careers... Now, just to perfect that 360!

YOG Ambassador Kevin Rolland’s ski half-pipe masterclass

12/20/2011 3:44:00 PM

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a ski half-pipe world champion? In this cool new video, YOG Ambassador Kevin Rolland reveals all about how he perfects the big air moves that have landed him the title of King of Style on the circuit!

Chatting exclusively to the YOG team, he also talks about the precautions he takes to stay injury-free in the pipe and his hopes for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, where ski half-pipe will join the OG programme for the first time since its debut at the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Next batch of free tickets to be released this weekend!

12/9/2011 5:08:00 PM

It’s that time again, YOG fans! The next batch of free tickets will be released this weekend!

The limited number of tickets will be made available for 24 hours only from 7 a.m. (CET) on Sunday 11 December on www.Innsbruck2012.com.

But if you miss out on Sunday, fear not! A limited number of golden tickets will be up for grabs on two additional special days in the countdown to the Games: 22 December (22 days to go) and 2 January 2012 (11 days to go).

Good luck, YOG fans!

Medals for the Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic Games Unveiled!

12/7/2011 5:17:00 PM

Drum roll please... drrrrr: it is our honour to present to you the medals for the first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games, Innsbruck 2012!

Unveiled today by none other than Austrian Olympic downhill ski champion Fritz Strobl, a total of 372 medals will be hotly contested by 1,059 young athletes from 67 countries during the Games, which will run from 13 to 22 January.

As ever, wherever there are cameras you will find Yoggl, and our cheeky mascot was also there for the presentation of the medals, which are an impressive 70mm in diameter and weigh 110g.

The front design features the Olympic rings, a pattern of snowflakes and an olive branch as a nod to the ancient Olympic Games, while the back incorporates the awesome Innsbruck 2012 pixel design.

Good luck to all the young athletes hoping to get their hands on one of these precious prizes and to all their supporters.

Who will you be cheering for at the first Winter Youth Olympic Games?

YOG Ambassador Yuna Kim joins #ICopyU craze…

11/16/2011 12:03:00 PM

It’s an image she knows fondly - the moment her gold medal became a reality at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010 and the emotions came flooding out. And Korean figure skater Yuna Kim jumped at the chance to recreate that happy memory for our awesome #ICopyU Twitter competition.

But it won’t be a straight gold this time for Yuna, oh no! The global sports star faces stiff competition from a host of other entries ranging from a cute toddler to a grown man all pulling the famous Yuna pose! View and vote for your favourite at olympic.org/ICOPYU.

Which athlete will you copy? Tweet your picture and you could win a trip to the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, 13-22 January.

Yuna Kim has got YOG DNA… have you?

11/8/2011 12:11:00 PM

It’s not every day you meet an Olympic champion (unless you are Yoggl of course). And it’s not every day that an Olympic champion performs her gold-medal winning routine exclusively for you.

So the YOG team was left a little bit speechless when Yuna Kim arrived for her video shoot in the same outfit she wore when she skated to victory at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games ready to retrace her record-breaking steps for all the YOG fans out there!

Not only that, Yuna gave us a special backstage pass and talked us through how she feels when she is preparing to go on the ice.

An incredible day filming and an incredible film. We can’t stop watching it… Tell us what you think on Facebook.

Yuna has got YOG DNA… have you?