EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee

Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee
Welcome...
Like people the world over, we are eagerly looking
forward to the Olympic Games.
This summer over 10,000 athletes and officials and a
further 20,000 media representatives will be in Beijing to
celebrate sport, life and humanity in what has come to
be known as The Greatest Show On Earth.
The Opening ceremony is set to become the most
watched programme in the history of television with
nearly 2 billion people around the world tuning
in. That surely underscores the global importance
of these Games.
The Olympic Games represents the pinnacle of every
competitor’s sports career. They may set new records and
even win world championships but, in most sports, an
Olympic Gold medal is the ultimate goal.
“The values of sport and fair play are
more important than the barriers
of nationality and politics”
That is why I am delighted that Qatar will send
its biggest ever delegation to the Beijing Games. Six
federations - Athletics (Track and Field) Archery, Fencing,
Swimming Shooting and Taekwondo - are sending
competitors and our nation will also be represented in
the Paralympic Games.
In many respects, the Olympic Games provide an
indicator of how far sport in Qatar has come and how
quickly it is developing. It is a credit to the federations,
their coaches and officials that we are sending more
competitors to the Games than ever before and there is
also a belief that Qatari athletes have a genuine chance of
winning medals in a number of events.
That is a real mark of progress for everybody involved
in sport in Qatar and a tribute to the inspiration and
leadership of HH the Emir.
The Olympic Games will provide inspiration for a
generation of youngsters watching around the world
and I am sure that the performance of our athletes
will encourage Qatari youngsters to emulate them, by
showing them that by recognising and developing your
talents, anything is possible.
The importance of the Olympic Games is heightened
in Qatar because of the central role of sport in our
country. The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) is
responsible not only for the team which represents Qatar
in Beijing but for all aspects of sporting life. (QOC)
is the clear link between the medal hopefuls in China
and the youngsters taking their first sporting steps as
participants in our schools Olympic Day programme.
It is what connects the major international events
which are staged in our country and the thousands of
men, women and children who take part in the Aspire
Active programme.
We are confident that the people of Qatar will provide
fantastic support to our athletes and those of other
nations during the Olympic Games but the Olympic
Committee is determined that the focus on sport does
not end with the closing ceremony.
Our role is continue to provide the facilities, coaches
and stimulus to encourage every Qatari and Qatar
resident to make sport part of their lives, not simply as
spectators but as participants.
Not everybody will ever run a marathon, fewer still will
complete the 100 metres in under 10 seconds. Not all of
us can be a top class footballer or win a tennis title.
But sport is amazingly diverse and offers most people,
irrespective of age or gender, an opportunity to participate,
to be part of a new and stimulating community and enjoy
the health benefits of a more active lifestyle.
The Olympic Games are the embodiment of sport’s
role in life and goes beyond the arena itself. Despite the
fact that the world is an intensely complicated place, the
Olympic Games represents a willingness to embrace a
spirit of togetherness, where the values of sport and fair
play are more important than the barriers of nationality
and politics.
Those are the values at the heart of the Qatar
Olympic Committee and which drive our unchanging
policy to become a welcoming host to the world’s major
sports events.
In the spirit of sport I would like to wish the
Beijing Organising Committee, the Chinese Olympic
Committee and every participating Olympic Committee
enjoyable and successful Games.
Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
Secretary General. Qatar Olympic Committee
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