Lausanne, March 18 (IANS): Double Olympic gold medallist and hockey legend Teun de Nooijer has been selected along with 36 others as Athlete Role Model (ARM) for the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) that will be held in Nanjing, China, Aug 16-28.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected the athletes after receiving nominations from 28 international federations whose sports will feature at Nanjing 2014. These role models will play a key role in supporting, mentoring and offering advice to the 3,800 young athletes who will be participating in the Games.
The Dutch superstar, who represented the Netherlands a record 453 times, is one of many legendary names from the world of sport, including Olympic and world champions.
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Also on the list will be ARMs from the world of rugby sevens and golf, sports which will make their YOG debuts at Nanjing 2014, before appearing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
De Nooijer and his fellow ARMs will be accessible to the athletes both in the Youth Olympic Village and during a series of educational activities and workshops that will focus on areas such as skills development, how to lead healthy lifestyles, environment and social responsibility and Olympism.
De Nooijer won Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000 and was a World Cup winner in 1998. He was voted International Hockey Federation (FIH) Player of the Year in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Since his retirement after winning silver at the 2012 Olympics, he has been involved with coaching at his club Bloemendaal and running the Teun de Nooijer Academy, which helps people in both business and sport achieve their potential.
