Olympic Newsdesk -- New CEO for 2012 Winter YOG; 2010 Summer YOG on Schedule

(ATR) Peter Bayer is the new CEO of Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympics organizers. The organizing committee’s former marketing director was chosen from 43 candidates who applied for the post.

Richard Rubatscher was named as the new chair of the winter YOG 2012 supervisory board.

Commenting on his appointment Tuesday, Bayer said: "Our success is measured by the quality of the sports events and for the first time also from the development of an attractive culture and education program for all participants and the youth of Tyrol [region].

"An authentic youth-oriented social program will be crucial for the sustainable experience of an Olympic Winter Youth Festival."

Bayer had been one of the two interim CEOs since July 3 following the resignation of Martin Schnitzer over a financial scandal linked to the city’s role in the UEFA Euro 2008 football championships.

Bayer is a winter sports enthusiast said to be well-known in the Tyrol region for organizing youth events. After marketing studies in Innsbruck, he has gathered experience as a marketing and event director for various international sports events.

An Innsbruck 2012 statement said: "Mayoress Hilde Zach, Tyrolean Government member Patrizia Zoller-Frischauf and AOC president Leo Wallner, the shareholders of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, are convinced that they found the right expert for this job."

Rubatscher, a certified accountant, will be responsible for controlling the YOG 2012 budget for the Winter YOG.

"Our goal must be to prepare and operate the Games in the best possible way while maintaining Innsbruck's long Olympic tradition," he said following his appointment.

"With 1,048 athletes we will welcome about the same amount of athletes as in 1976 in Innsbruck. The number of participating nations and events will be approximately double the amount. Top priority has been the creation of a well-grounded budget to ensure smooth operations without aftermaths", he added.

Innsbruck 2012 organizers had been without a chief executive since June following the resignations of Christoph Platzgummer as president and Schnitzer over the Euro 2008 scandal that led to significant financial losses for the city. Innsbruck Mayor Hilde Zach was a quick replacement for Platzgummer as president of Innsbruck 2012.

The new YOG 2012 leadership will meet with the IOC Coordination Commission for Innsbruck, led by Gian-Franco Kasper, when it visits the Austrian city next month.

2010 YOG On Track

Singapore Minister for Sport Vivian Balakrishnan said preparations for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games are on schedule.

Addressing parliament, Balakrishnan, said the IOC approved key plans from the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee and "commended SYOGOC for making good progress despite the very hectic timeline."

Balakrishnan said he was unable to provide an update on the budget for the Games as neither the IOC nor Singapore Cabinet had approved it.

There is no shortage of people signing up to volunteer he said. "To date, about 15,000 people have signed up to be volunteers and will begin their training from September. Our youth are actively engaged."

A request was made to the people of Singapore to turn the inaugural YOG

into the people’s Games.

"The competition venues are in our local neighborhoods. We need our local residents to take pride in and ownership of the Games. People from all over the world, and the cameras of the world will be in our neighborhoods. We need every single resident to proudly showcase Singapore at its best, in our usual understated but dignified way."

National Olympic Committees are also gearing up for the Games. The Liberia National Olympic Committee gave checks to four of its national federations to help train athletes for the YOG. The LNOC has awarded more than $18,000 for athletes in athletics, boxing, swimming and table tennis. LNOC chief PhilipbertBrowne was quoted in local media saying

"we are giving this money to begin trainings and expect better results. We pray the money will be used wisely, and the people of Liberia, through this medium, will know that National Olympic Committee has done something to jumpstart your practice."

Athletes Commission Chosen for EOC

New members for the European Olympic Committees Athletes Commission were selected last weekend at a meeting in Moscow.

Canoe/kayak athlete Antonio Rossi of Italy was elected as chair, Czech skier Katerina Neummanova will be vice chair.

Members include swimmer Gordan Kozulj of Croatia, field hockey player Marion Gabrielle Rodewald of Germany, Jean Michel Saive from Belgium and table tennis, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and Danish rower Mads Kruse Andersen. Members of the commission serve four-year terms.

Outgoing chair is fencer Claudia Bokel of Germany, who is now an IOC member and will serve as a member of the Evaluation Commission for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Baseball Holds World Cup

A record number of nations are participating at the 38th Baseball World Cup, which is being held this month in a number of European cities.

A total of 22 nations are participating in this year’s BaseballWorld Cup, the most in the event’s 71-year history. The 2005 competition in the Netherlands featured 18 countries.

The tournament, which is currently in its second round, began on Sept. 9 and will conclude with the championship game in Nettuno, Italy on Sept. 27.

First-round games were played in Prague, Barcelona, Stockholm, Regensberg, Germany and Zagreb, Croatia, second-round contests are being held in various cities in the Netherlands and Italy and third-round action will be held in a number of Italian cities.

Around 67,000 people have attended the 44 games that have been played so far, an average of over 1,500 per game.

Cuba is the lone undefeated team remaining in the tournament, winning all three of its first-round games and taking both of its second-round games.

Medal Winning Boxer Found Dead, Promoter Suffers Heart Attack

After finding Irish bronze medalist Darren Sutherland hanged at his apartment, promoter Frank Maloney was taken to the hospital, where he is currently recuperating from a heart attack.

Maloney, who served as Sutherland’s promoter, was the one who found Sutherland’s body on Monday. His family and friends were quoted in London’s Daily Telegraph saying "72 hours of pure stress and shock" caused the promoter’s heart attack.

Frank’s wife Tracey told the paper her husband had no health issues. "The hospital doctors want to keep Frank in for a few days, and keep an eye on him, but knowing Frank, he’ll want to get out of there and back to work as soon as possible" she said.

Sutherland lost to James DeGale of Great Britain in the middleweight semi-final in Beijing. He was 27.

Metropolitan police do not think Sutherland’s death is suspicious.

Briefs…

...The Japanese Olympic Committee has appointed Seiko Hashimoto, a member of the upper house of the country’s parliament, as its chef de mission for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

…Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang will compete for the first time since withdrawing from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with a foot injury this month. Liu is scheduled to compete in the 110-meter hurdles at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meet on Sept. 20

Written by Mark Bisson, Ed Hula III, Greg Oshust.

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