Countdown to Olympic Day – 3 days to go!

20 | 6 | 2014

Young athletes will be the focus of Olympic Day celebrations in Fiji this year as one of the country’s most prolific Olympians, Carl Probert, prepares to lead the team to the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China later this year.

Probert, a five-time Olympic swimmer who has represented the island nation at the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, is Chef de Mission for Fiji’s youth Olympic team. He will introduce the athletes to the public in a small ceremony on 21 June to mark the Olympic Day celebrations. Fellow swimmer and 2012 Olympian, Matalita Buadromo, will also be present as Team Fiji's Youth Ambassador to the Youth Olympic Games along with three-time Olympian Sharon Smith (nee Pickering) who is coach of the youth Olympic swim team.

The presentation will be followed by a simultaneous Olympic Day run and walk in both Nadi and the capital Suva as well as an accompanying sports expo promoting the educational messages of physical activity and sport for healthy living. The aim of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) is to allow people to get involved and try different activities while learning about the Olympic Movement.

Despite never having won an Olympic medal, Fiji has a proud sporting history and will be looking forward to the inclusion of Rugby Sevens on the sports programme at Rio 2016 where its highly ranked national team will have a chance to shine.

Olympic Day is an international celebration of the Olympic Movement, bringing together people from around the world to mark the foundation of the modern Olympic Games in 1894. National Olympic Committees (NOC) from over 150 countries will be staging sports, cultural and education activities under the three pillars ‘move, learn and discover’ in order to spread the Olympic ideals.

You can find out more about Olympic Day and the other events happening around the globe here.