 |
Beijing A Promoter for Universiade, FISU
International University Sports Federation (FISU) vice president Ed Zemrau suggested on Friday that Beijing has helped promote the Universiade by having senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials to attend the 21st University Games.
"As far as the effect on overall multi-sports organization, I think example has been the IOC members who came here to visit," said Zemrau at a press conference Monday morning when talking about how the Beijing Universiade will affect the later versions.
IOC president Jacques Rogge, vice president Kevan Gosper and other IOC members visited the host city for the 2008 Olympic Games during the 11-day University Games.
"Most of those IOC members did not know how big the Universiade is, they were very surprised and I think have a better appreciation now about how important the Universiade is in the international sport as a multi-national and multi-sports event. It's very, very much next to the Olympics, quite clearly. We hope this will continue in the future in Daegu and then in Izmir in 2005."
Daegu, South Korea and Izmir, Turkey will play host to the 22nd and 23rd Universiade in 2003 and 2005.
Zemrau also praised the city's organization of the first world multi-sports event ever held in China.
"I think, as the president said, the organization by the Chinese here was super, was all we could ask," he said. "We are always striving to improve with FISU as Beijing will strive to improve with the Olympics. What has happened is we have learned from each other."
FISU president George E. Killian said Friday that he did not know what else could be done to improve on the Beijing Universiade.
"I am sure the Organizing Committee here, with the experience that they had at the Universiade, will know how to do things much better when the Olympics come."
Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympic Games at the 112th IOC session on July 13.
In This Section
|