Today the City of Chicago celebrated Olympic Day by hosting races for nearly 500 day campers across the city. Olympic Day, which was first held on June 23, 1894, commemorates the day French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin began to revive the Olympic Games and also marks the formation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
For the past 21 years, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world have organized Olympic Day events to celebrate this day, and races have been a long-standing tradition.
The fun runs, which range from 200 to 400 meters, took place today at Shabbona, Douglas and Washington parks.
Also in honor of Olympic Day, Chicago 2016 recently selected two local students, Meelun McCray and Peter Park, to attend the Beijing Olympic Youth Camp during the Olympic Games this summer. As the camp’s official U.S. delegates, McCray and Park will travel to the Olympic Games, where they will attend the Opening Ceremony and various Olympic events, visit the Olympic Village and enjoy the sites and culture of Beijing China with hundreds of youth from around the world.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Youth Camp will be held from August 6 to 17, 2008, under the theme "Youth Create the Future.” The camp provides the opportunity for more than 400 youth ambassadors from every participating country in the Games (more than 200) to come together to be educated, inspired and motivated about the Olympic Movement.
Patrick Ryan, chairman and CEO of Chicago 2016, said, “It is so important that our local youth embraces the Olympic Games for everything they offer, just as many generations before them have. And there's no better way to accomplish this mission than to facilitate activities that ensure our children are excited about being active and to educate them on the amount of opportunities that are available in our community and around the world.”
Chicago 2016 selected Park, 18, and McCray, 18, because of their dedication to sports and excellence in academics, leadership and community service. McCray recently graduated from Marshall High School, where she was captain of three sports teams—cross country, track and field, and the state championship basketball team. She was also made the state finals in track and field and chess. Park, who originally hails from New Jersey, is a member of Northwestern University’s swim team, where he competes in the 400-meter medley and the 200-meter butterfly. He helped his team achieve a 12th-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Swimming Championships. Both McCray and Park hope to make the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 or 2016 Olympic Games.
McCray’s trip to Beijing this summer will be her first outside of the United States. “I’m excited to attend the Beijing Youth Camp because I love to learn new things and meet new people.” McCray said. “I also can’t wait to tell other youth how great a city Chicago is.”
As a future anthropology major, Park looks forward to interacting with people from around the world. “I think this camp truly represents the Olympic Games in its ability to bring people together from around the world. It will help me to better understand and accept different cultures.”
In a meeting with McCray and Park, Pat Ryan congratulated them on their selection and encouraged the two to use their selection to promote the Olympic Movement among youth in Chicago. “You have a unique opportunity to experience the Olympic Movement at the Games. I hope that when you return to Chicago, you will tell youth what they may experience if the Games come to Chicago.”
Park’s and McCray’s activities with Chicago 2016 and the United States Olympic Committee began last week. Both attended the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Ceremony, where they met the new inductees. While in Beijing, McCray and Park will write about their experiences for the Chicago 2016 Web site. After Beijing, they will continue their activities with the bid as volunteers.
The Olympic Youth Camp is a legacy program of the Stockholm 1912 Olympic Games, when King Gustav V of Sweden invited 1,500 Boy Scouts to camp near the Olympic Stadium and celebrate the Games. The two world wars interrupted the program, but almost every Olympic Games since the Tokyo Games in 1964 has hosted the Olympic Youth Camp. Each National Olympic Committee may nominate a male and female to the camp.
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About Chicago 2016
Chicago 2016 is a 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to seek the privilege of hosting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Chicago. The committee’s board comprises business, civic, athletic, cultural and academic leaders representing Chicago and the surrounding Midwest region. Patrick Ryan serves as chairman and CEO. Contact: Mica Matsoff, 312-861-4826, media@chicago2016.org.