Triathlon Qualification; Canada House; Squash 2020 Stunt

6/6/2012

Triathlon Olympic Qualifications

A record 39 National Olympic Committees have qualified for spots in triathlon at the London Olympics.

The International Triathlon Union made the announcement after the qualification period ended last week.

"To have a record number of National Olympic Committees from all five continents represented is indicative of the phenomenal growth and development of triathlon worldwide," ITU president Marisol Casado said in a statement.

Ecuador, Mauritius, Monaco, Republic of Korea, and Slovenia qualified for the first time.

A total of 55 men and 55 women will compete in the races at Hyde Park.

To view the final women’s simulation, visit: http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/olympic-simulation-women-2012.pdf

To view the final men’s simulation, visit: http://www.triathlon.org/files/events/rankings/olympic-simulation-men-2012.pdf

YouTube Olympic Stream

The IOC will stream the London Olympics over YouTube in 64 countries.

Streaming video will only be available in countries where digital broadcasting rights were not secured.

All feeds will be available http://youtube.com/olympic.

Olympic fans will have the choice of 10 live streams from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM London time with English commentary and a 24-hour news channel.

“We first provided clips on our channel on YouTube during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games across the region, and since then have continued to provide footage of past Olympic Games across the world on our YouTube channel,” IOC Marketing Director Timo Lumme said. "Now we will also be able to offer live coverage during London 2012, complementing the excellent coverage provided by our broadcast partners across the world across all media platforms.”

MLB Stars Supporting Olympians

Major League Baseball players are showing their support for Team USA by using a new at-bat song.

As part of Duracell’s “Rely on Copper to Go for the Gold” campaign, nine MLB stars will use the new song “Champions”, a collaboration with rock group O.A.R. and hip hop artist B.o.B. for one game during their next home stand.

When walking up to bat, baseball players have a song that is played over the stadium’s P.A. system.

Duracell says the song “is meant to help motivate and inspire the Olympians training to compete in London.” 

Some of the players using the song include B.J. Upton, Nick Swisher, Jimmy Rollins and Matt Holliday.

Duracell is part of the TOP sponsor Procter & Gamble conglomeration.

Canadian PM Unveils Canada House, Table Tennis Team

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, unveiled Canada Olympic House and the country’s Olympic table tennis squad on Tuesday.

The house is located at Trafalgar Square.

“Canada House has always been a beacon of Canadian Hospitality in this great city, and today we are so thrilled that Prime Minister Harper his here to celebrate this new chapter in its incarnation,” said Marcel Aubut, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “Starting today, as Canada Olympic House, it will be ready to support our outstanding Canadian athletes who will wear the maple leaf with pride during the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

Andre Ho, Pierre-Luc Hinse, Eugene Wang and Mo Zhang will compete for the maple leaf at the London Olympic Games this summer.

Australian Pentathletes

Two Australians have been chosen to compete in modern pentathlon at the Olympics.

Chloe Esposito and Edward Fernon were named members of the Australian Olympic Team on Wednesday.

Australia has never medaled in modern pentathlon.

Squash 2020 Stunt

Squashers are planning the “biggest squash match ever” on World Squash Day to support the sport’s Olympic bid.

Clubs from around the world are invited to enter two teams of 20 players into the tournament playing matches up to 20 points – a 2020 theme. The scores from each club will count towards a global overall score, counted between Team Squash and Team 2020.

"Our aim is to get this event into the Guinness Book of Records, and we hope that kind of response will show a tremendous global support for squash and the Olympic bid,” event founder Alan Thatcher said.

World Squash Day is scheduled for October 20.

World Environment Day in Sochi

Sochi 2014 launched a conservation initiative and received environmental recognition on Tuesday.

The organizing committee celebrated “Attention to the Turtle!”, an initiative seeking to conserve the Mediterranean Nikolsky turtle. The species risks extinction.

In addition, Sochi's environmental management system was awarded a certificate of conformity to ISO 14001 standards.

"Environmental recognition, received by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee today, is proving that we have been able to create the necessary conditions for environmental protection programs development,” Sochi 2014 president and CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko said.

Medellin 2018 YOG Update

Medellin 2018 representatives planted a tree at World Environment Day celebrations on Tuesday that they say will grow with their Youth Olympic Games aspirations.

The ceremony took place at Plaza Suramericana of Atanasio Girardot, where officials planted a native Cambulo tree.

The tree “will grow in this space as a symbol of the Olympic dream that the city has,” Medellin 2018 said in a statement.  

The Colombian Olympic Committee also planted trees at their headquarters in Bogota in commemoration of World Environment Day.

Written by Hannah Reid and Ed Hula III.

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