Olympic Briefs -- Toyota to Sponsor JOC; CONI Rewards Medalists

Toyota is set to agree to an official sponsorship contract with the Japan Olympic Committee to become a gold partner and would contribute over $6 million through 2012, according to Kyodo News.

“We are studying the matter with an eye to signing a contract as a gold (partner),” a Toyota spokesman said.

“As a company based in Japan, it is important to back members of Japanese teams for the Olympics, which generates much interest among the public. We hope it will enhance the company’s favorableness rating and provide high exposure,” the spokesman said.

Toyota began partnering with the JOC in 1989 and would become its first gold partner.

USOC Could Land P&G Sponsorship

An article in SportBusiness Journal speculates that the USOC is in talks with Procter & Gamble for a multiple category sponsorship. This despite a reported verbal agreement between former USOC CEO Jim Scherr and Johnson & Johnsonfor the official health care products sponsorship.

According to reports, the potential $10 million P&G sponsorship would allow the USOC to strengthen its relationship with female viewers who comprise a large portion of the Olympic audience.

None of the parties would comment on this report.

Italian Gold Medalists to Receive Yearly Income

The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) will give its Olympic gold medalists a $64,000 yearly income in addition to the $179,000 awards the athletes receive from CONI after winning gold.

“We’ve decided to invest in our best product – gold medalists,” CONI President Giovanni Petrucci said.

Eight athletes who won gold Federica Pellegrini, who won gold in Beijing, will receive a yearly income from CONI along with other gold medalists. (Getty Images)in Beijing and six who won gold in Turin will receive the pay until the next Olympics if they don’t retire.

“The money will help athletes who feel abandoned once the Olympics are over. Now, they won’t be able to say they’ve been forgotten a month after the Games,” he said.

Paralympic gold medalists will receive $31,876.

Powell’s Coach Says Bolt’s Record Will Fall; Jamaica Challenged

Asafa Powell's coach said Usain Bolt’s record in the 100 may not last the season.

Stephen Francis made the comments in Australia last week saying, "I expect Asafa to be able to run well enough this year to break the world record."

He added, "I don't know how good Usain Bolt is. People claim that he is Superman, but one thing I do know is we will find out this year, because if he is not Superman he is going to find the races with this Powell will be different than last year."

According to The New York Times, Doug Logan, the head of USA Track and Field, sent a letter to Neville McCook of the Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association on Saturday asking for a meet between the two countries in the 100, 200, and 400-meters races, three relays and the long jump for men and women. The men’s 110-meter hurdles and women’s 100-meter hurdles would also be run.

Alltech Title Sponsor for World Equestrian Games

Alltech is committing $11 million to sponsor the 2010 World Equestrian Games. The company will pay $10 million to be title sponsor and $1 million to make its Kentucky Ale the official beer.

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will be held in Lexington, Kentucky Sept. 25- Oct. 10, 2010. The competition will decide eight world championships in dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, jumping, para dressage, reining and vaulting.

The biotechnology company is also the provider of the official ice cream, Dippin’ Dots, for the Games.

It is also the sponsor of the Alltech European Championship held in Windsor, U.K., August 25-30, 2009.

U.S. Olympic Official will Meet With Interim CEO

Skip Gilbert, executive director of USA Triathlon and chair of the USOC's NGB Council, will meet with interim CEO Stephanie Streeter on Wednesday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"She's trying to reach out to various NGBs - what's the business at hand, where do we need to go?" Gilbert tells Around the Rings. "Obviously, she's got a steep learning curve ahead of her and a lot of constituent groups."

Gilbert said he would also be meeting with Chairman of the Board Larry Probst next week.

Singapore YOG Disappoints Ad Agencies

According to a report in Brand Republic, creative agencies were disappointed with the presentation from organizers of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games.

YOG officials were looking for an ad agency to sponsor them for free.

“I am not sure how you make this kind of thing work. I guess it’s the sign of the times,” said an unnamed source.

The report said most agencies found the presentation “ambiguous.”

“From their point of view, the returns could be the visibility of working for a high profile event like the youth games and access to other budgets etc, but they weren’t really clear about it.”

Perhaps most damning for Singapore’s intentions, the report said agencies were recalcitrant to commit to the organizers' work.

“In the current economic scenario, when the cost is important, it’s highly unlikely unless an agency has expectation of winning some business in future.”

Briefs…

… The Oceania National Olympic Committees announced the nominees for officers early last week. Incumbent President and IOC member Kevan Gosper declined to seek re-election and is passing the reins to Robin Mitchell of Fiji. To view the list of nominees, click here.

… The Squash 2016 bid team has launched a devoted Web site to support the sport’s bid and give people ways to become involved with official Squash 2016 merchandise, message boards, and online votes. Squah2016.info allows people worldwide to support the sport’s bid and will follow the development of the bid until October when the IOC votes in Copenhagen.

Squash has never participated in the Olympics and is running against six sports to be included in the 2016 Games.

…The National Olympic Committee of San Marino turned 50 on Monday. Some of the Olympic leaders who made the trek to the island outpost in the Mediterranean included IOC members Prince Albert of Monaco, Lambis Nikolaou and Mario Pescante. Italian NOC President Gianni Petrucci and Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi were also there.

…ISAF announced that Fiona Kidd will return for a second term as chairman of the ISAF Women’s Forum for 2009-2012. She will also serve as the Women’s Representative of the ISAF council. The Women’s Forum includes the women members of ISAF Committees, sub-committees and commissions.

…Conviva has announced it will help NBC Universal enhance the quality of its online digital distribution. The real-time media control platform will help NBC Universal optimize, organize and distribute their digital media resources across its online properties. NBC Universal streamed the 2008 Summer Olympics online.

…Wojciech Walkiewicz of Poland was elected president of the European Cycling Union at the federation’s General Assembly in Pruszkow, Poland on Sunday. Walkiewicz succeeds Vladimir Holecek of the Czech Republic, who reached the maximum age limit for the position. Forty of the 48 cycling national federations attended the General Assembly.

…The World Curling Federation has selected Flims, Switzerland as the host for the 2010 World Junior Curling Championships, which will be held March 5-14. The event will be held at the newly-opened Wildhaus Arena. It will be the fourth time that Switzerland will host the junior curling worlds. The event previously took place in Grindelwald in 1978 and 1993 and Flims in 2003.

…Kazakhstan national hockey coach Yerlan Sagymbeyev has resigned in the aftermath of the team’s failure to qualify for a berth in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The Kazakh team won its Olympic pre-qualification tournament as the top-seeded team, but missed the 2010 Olympic berth after losing to Denmark and Norway at the Final Olympic Qualification competition.

Written by Isia Reaves and Ed Hula III