Federations Roundup - Karate, Squash Welcome IOC; Brazil Names World Cup Mascot

Karate, Squash Welcome IOC

Inspections of the seven sports shortlisted for the 2020 Olympics come to a close this week.

Program Commission member Michael Fennell of Jamaica led the IOC delegation to Paris for the 41st World Karate Championships, which wrapped up Sunday at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy.

More than 1,000 athletes from 166 countries fought in the five-day event with hosts France topping the medals table.

"There is no way that the IOC cannot be impressed by this," World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinós said in his closing press conference.

"The athletes, the crowd and the facility have been truly outstanding and this is obviously very good for our Olympic bid.

"This is definitely the right Championships for the IOC to visit to get a true flavor of our sport."

Squash is the last of the seven sports to stage its inspection event, welcoming the IOC to this week’s Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open.

Presentations to the Program Commission follow Dec. 19 with a decision of the IOC Executive Board scheduled for May 2013 on the sidelines of SportAccord in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Brazilians Name World Cup Mascot

Fuleco is the name of the Brazilian three-banded armadillo that doubles as a mascot for the 2014 World Cup.

FIFA announced Sunday that the name beat out rival candidates Zuzeco and Amijub in Coca-Cola’s three-month public voting campaign to christen the mascot.

More than 1.7 million Brazilians, or 48 percent of voters, favored Fuleco. Zuzeco won 31 percent of the vote and Amijubi took 21 percent.

"As one of the most high-profile ambassadors of the event and a member of a vulnerable species, the official mascot can play a key role in driving environmental awareness," FIFA said in a statement.

"The name Fuleco is a fusion of the words ‘futebol’ and ‘ecologia’. This seamlessly represents the way in which the FIFA World Cup can combine the two to encourage people to behave in an environmentally friendly way. In voting for the name Fuleco™, the Brazilian population has clearly demonstrated an affinity for both themes that the name epitomizes."

For more on the mascot launch, visit World Football INSIDER.

Taekwondo Team Championships

South Korea and China are the winners of the 2012 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships.

More than 150 fighters from 13 countries were in Aruba last week for the occasion.

Korea topped Iran 27-11 to take the men’s title, while the women from China needed a third sudden-death round to oust France in Sunday’s final.

Also in Aruba, more than para-athletes from 14 countries competed in the 3rd WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships.

Storey Receives Olympic Order

Olympian and former FIBT president Bob Storey is the latest recipient of the Olympic Order.

IOC president Jacques Rogge bestowed the honor upon Storey on Nov. 14 in Lausanne with his fellow winter sports leaders Ottavio Cinquanta of the International Skating Union and Rene Fasel of the International Ice Hockey Federation in attendance.

"I began my post athletic Olympic career with the idea of giving something back to sport. I happily learned the more one contributes the more sport rewards," Storey said in his acceptance speech.

"As president of FIBT, I spearheaded the promotion of men's and women's skeleton and women's bobsleigh internationally that resulted in the three new sport disciplines being added to the Olympic Winter Games program."

Storey was president of BobsleighCanada Skeleton from 1976 to 1994 and of the International Bobsleigh and Toboggan Federation from 1994 to 2010. He also served as chief international strategist for Vancouver 2010’s successful Olympics bid.

Written by Matthew Grayson

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