The 1st Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Opens in Singapore!

   

The full front page story  above can be retrieved from http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ebook/web_php/fvbrowserjs.php?urljs=http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ecreator/sphopf/mya130810cnd_opf_files/mya130810cnd.js&ver=Gen

The inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) opens today (14th August) in Singapore and will close on the 26th.  

The 12-day event has 3,600 young athletes, ages 14-18, from 204 participating National Olympic Committees participating in 26 sports.

We'd expect the Pinoys in Singapore to be all out to five venues to cheer for our Team Philippines composed of Bobby Ray Parks Jr, Michael Anthony Pate, Jeron Alvin Teng, and Cris Michael Tolomia for basketball; Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie King Lacuña for swimming; Kirk Barbosa for taekwondo; Jeson Patrombon for tennis; and Patricia Llena for weightlifting.  (How come there are only five in the basketball team?)

Just like the 'senior' Olympics, a torch relay preceded this main competition program.  The torch was lit in Ancient Olympia in Greece on July 23 by  focusing the sun's rays using a curved mirror held by Greek actress Ino Menegaki, who was dressed as a high priestess.

It was a 305-km journey for the YOG flame through one city in five continents - Berlin, Dakar, Mexico City, Auckland and Seoul.  On 13th August, it was borne through Singapore by 2,400 people--students, social activists, athletes, actors, dancers, news personalities, businessmen and other celebs--ages 11 to 82, able-bodied and on crutches, wheelchairs and dragonboats. Among the torchbearers was Lovino Arboleda, a Pinoy in Singapore.

For daily updates on the competition and other events, the YOG has a webpage:  http://www.singapore2010.sg/public/sg2010/en.html

 
This Straits Times front page article is available online at http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_566214.html