Youth Olympic European Qualification Tournament | 12 Feb 2018
Ryu Seungmin & Galia Dvorak to Mentor Table Tennis Youth Olympians at Buenos Aires 2018
Photo: ITTF
Olympic Champion RYU Seungmin (KOR) and three-time Olympian Galia DVORAK (ESP) have been announced as the Table Tennis Athlete Role Model (ARMs) for the upcoming third Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
RYU and DVORAK will be heading to Buenos Aires in October to support, inspire and mentor young table tennis athletes through educational activities and workshops at the Games, to offer advice on areas such as skills development, healthy lifestyle and future careers.
RYU made history after winning his Olympic Men's Singles Gold at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in Greece, and moved on to claim a bronze and a silver Olympic medal in the team events in Beijing 2008 & London 2012 respectively.
The three time Olympic medallist, who is also a member of the IOC Athlete's Commission, shared "I'm very honoured to be appointed as an athlete role model. Thank you for giving me this great opportunity and I will put all my effort to share my experience with my young athletes. As an IOC member and Olympian, I will do my best to give them inspirations."
"I am thrilled about being an athlete role model for the Youth Olympic Games and to be taking part in this amazing and inspiring programme," stated DVORAK after the announcement. "I am looking forward to participate in the planned activities and to share my experiences with the goal of inspiring the young athletes to be the best they can, both on and off the field of play. In the same way, I believe that this experience and the contact with the young athletes will be a very enriching experience for me and I am sure that I will learn a lot from them."
Both DVORAK and RYU will be accessible to the athletes both in the Youth Olympic Village and in the competition venue to share their experiences and inspire young athletes to be the best they can both on and off the field of play.
The Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Table Tennis event in the Tecnópolis Park from 6-18 October 2018. The event will feature 32 boys and 32 girls who will battle for the 3 Gold medals available at the Games: Boy's Singles, Girls' Singles, Mixed International Teams event, which will consist of one boy and one girl who have qualified for the singles event.