Olympic Briefs - Small States Games in Cyprus; Merkel Optimistic for Munich Olympic Bid

Games of Small States Underway in Cyprus

Cyprus notched its 800th medal in the 24-year history of the Games of the Small States of Europe when Marilena Constantinou won silver in the women’s air rifle event Tuesday. Her father Andreas Kostantinou later claimed Cyprus’ first gold medal in men’s air rifle at the Games.

Two new Games records were set during the opening day of the swimming events, with 14-year-old Sarah Rolko from Luxembourg winning the women's 200m backstroke semifinal in 2:20.13, breaking a decade-long record. In the women's 100m freestyle semifinals, Iceland’s Ragnheidur Ragnarsdottir clocked 56.53, bettering a record set in 2003.

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias opened the 13th Games of Small States of Europe in Nicosia Monday night at a ceremony themed on the sun and sea of the eastern Mediterranean island state. The Games run through June 6.

Meanwhile, Montenegro joined the family of the Small States of Europe following the country’s acceptance at its general assembly Monday.

But it may have to wait until the XV Games in Luxembourg in 2013 to make its debut in the biennial multi-sport event. Organizers of the 2011 GSSE in Liechtenstein have expressed concerns about the extra capacity and budget needed to accommodate a ninth country in the GSSE in two years time. A final decision will be made in November.

For their eligibility in the Games, the Small States of Europe are the countries of the continent with a population of less than one million. Montenegro, which gained independence in 2006 when it broke away from Serbia, has a population of 620,000. The country’s national Olympic committee was officially recognized by the IOC in 2007.

The 2015 Games will take place in Iceland, it was announced at the assembly.

Merkel Optimistic About Munich 2018 Hope

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today backed the Munich bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, saying it has the full support of the government.

“We believe that we have extremely good chances for Olympic Winter Games in the Munich region. The bid is of a national significance,” Merkel was quoted by DPA after a meeting with potential sponsors in Berlin.

Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer and IOC Vice President Thomas Bach, who is also president of the German Olympic Sports Federation, also attended the meeting with private sector companies. They met with representatives from Adidas, the sportswear firm, electronics giant Siemens, energy company RWE, German Post, insurance firm Allianz and Sparkasse, the German bank.

After the summit, Seehofer said he was confident the bid would recruit enough sponsors in spite of the challenging economic climate. But no private sector partners have so far been signed up.

The Munich 2018 bid, fronted by chief executives Richard Adam and Bernhard Schwank, is seeking to raise nearly $40 million to fund its bid activities in the run-up to the 2011 vote on the 2018 Olympic host city.

PyeongChang, South Korea and Annecy in France are the only other cities who have confirmed their intentions to bid for the 2018 Olympics. Bids from other countries are expected in the coming months.

The IOC launches the 2018 bid process after the selection of the 2016 Olympic host at the IOC Session in October.

Sochi Won’t Need Government Money for Next Two Years

Sochi 2014 won’t need government money for the next two years after private funding surpassed original goals, organizing committee president Dmitry Chernyshenko said at the organization’s supervisory board Meeting.

“The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee is committed to ensuring that 80% of the budget for staging the Winter Games comes through private funding, and we are delivering on our financial promises,” Chernyshenko said.

Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Zhukov said Sochi’s organizing committee has an extra $130 million in its budget after producing more than $500 million through its marketing program this year and the government could save money in the mist of economic hardships.

The Russian government will restart funding in 2011.

Imran Re-Elected to Malaysia Post

Prince Tunku Imran has been re-elected as president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia at the organization’s meeting on Saturday.

Imran, an IOC member and a leading patron of the World Squash Federation, was unopposed in his bid for re-election. He has served as OCM president since 1999.

Imran has made his name in squash as the president of the World Squash Federation from 1989-96 and as the organization’s emeritus president from 1996-2002.He has been an IOC member since 2006.

Imran will be leading the bid presentation for squash’s inclusion into the Olympics at the IOC executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 15.

Dato’ A. Sani Karim was elected as one of the OCM’s four vice-presidents. Karim is also the president of the Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia.

Bank of America Cashes In USOC Deal

Bank of America has ended its 16-year-partnership with the USOC Olympic Committee, citing insufficient return on its investment from the deal.

According to SportsBusiness Journal, the bank will continue supporting the Chicago 2016 bid effort by having executives on the bid committee and funding grants for operating expenses.

Bank of America sponsored the USOC's "Hometown Hopefuls" program that included a center for athletes to gather with their families during the Olympic Games.

The bank is the third major sponsor, after GM and Home Depot, to drop its USOC sponsorship in the past two years.

FITA Launches New Brand, Logo

The International Archery Federation officially launched its new brand and logo at thesite of the latest World Cup stage in Antalya, Turkey.

The new brand is called World Archery. It is aimed to unite all the activities, events and members under the World Archery brand name in its bid to increase the popularity of the sport worldwide.

“FITA is among the first of the international sports federations to create a consumer brand for its sport. We believe it is very important that all archery activities be unified with one brand name. The purpose is simply to make archery stronger worldwide,” said FITA president Ugur Erdener in a statement.

The logo will represent the new World Archery brand and will be used at upcoming events, such as the world archery championships and the youth and para-archery competitions.

Portugese NOC Celebrates 100 Years

The Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP) has launched celebrations to mark its 100th anniversary.Vicente Moura, president of the NOC, and secretary general Manuel Marques Da Silva, welcomed government ministers, representatives of sports authorities and athletes in a ceremony last week.

The main event of the celebrations takes place in November when the Portuguese capital Lisbon hosts the 38th European Olympic Committees General Assembly.

Written by Mark Bisson, Greg Oshust, Karen Rosen and Isia Reaves