Paris 2024 Athletes' Body to 'Inspire and Engage' Public

(ATR) The Paris 2024 athletes commission says it aims to deliver an "exceptional experience" for Olympians in 2024.

The panel held its first meeting Thursday at the site of the future Olympic Village – the Cité du Cinéma in Saint-Denis – which will host 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes in 2024.

Less than three months after the organizing committee was formed, the 18-member committee led by commission president Martin Fourcade discussed how to put athletes at the heart of Games planning working side by side with Paris 2024 leaders. Organizing committee chief Tony Estanguet attended the meeting.

"Its ambition will be to engage the public to make the event a catalyst for progress, in terms of health, education and inclusion," said Fourcade, a five-time Winter Olympic champion.

Paris 2024 said the commission would help ensure that the Games "is useful for society, leaving a positive and sustainable legacy, above and beyond the sport competitions".

The commission’s priorities include offering "an exceptional experience for the athletes of the world in 2024 in areas such as the village, transportation, accommodation, training and competition conditions".

Members will be involved in issues such as the development of sport practice and education through sport with the objective of engaging the public across France.

The commission will work in collaboration with Paris 2024 sports director Jean-Philippe Gatien and his team, Games delivery partners and members of the Olympic and Paralympic family.

In order to achieve its goals, the commission reflects the diversity of the French sports movement. It includes 9 women and 9 men – 13 Olympians and 5 Paralympians, with 16 sports represented "to offer different perspectives and enrich athlete experience".

Estanguet labeled the athletes’ commission "strong and experienced", saying the 18 members "will have a key role to play in inspiring and maintaining the engagement of the public".

"Similar to the body chaired by Jonathan Edwards in London 2012, we wish to see a commission that is creative and innovative and which can contribute fully in the success of the Games and leave a strong social legacy," he added.

Edwards, Britain’s Sydney 2000 Olympic champion in triple-jump, attended the meeting to offer his insights as a former chair of London 2012’s athletes’ body.

He said the success of the Paris 2024 Games "will, in a large degree, depend on the athletes", saying the 18 athletes on the commission had a vital role to play.

"They’ve all been to Olympic or Paralympics and they understand the good experiences and the bad experiences they’ve had; it’s about recreating this in a Parisian way," he was quoted as telling reporters after the briefing in a Reuters report.

"It’s about multiple things to do very, very well and it’s probably the biggest challenge for the ex- and current athletes: the range of things to concentrate and focus on."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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