The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced the first winner of its global digital initiative "The Best of Us Challenge".

The winner, Grant Gibbons of Sterling VA, USA, will receive a trip for two to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games taking place in February 2010.

Mr Gibbons, who was declared the winner after a random selection process, submitted a video to the Challenge site showing him beating Estonian Olympian Gerd Kanter at a discus pick-up challenge.

Grant Gibbons said, "The Best of Us Challenge is great: not only do we have a chance to show off what we can do, but we get to see a side to our favourite Olympic athletes that we normally don't get to see."

"The Best of Us Challenge" will continue through 2010, and participants who submit videos to the official site (http://thebestofuschallenge.olympic.org) are still eligible to win a wide range of remaining prizes, including:

• A trip for two to the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore (August 2010)
• "The Best of Us" memorabilia signed by Olympians
• Official "Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games" video games
• "The Best of Us" posters

Since its launch in October, "The Best of Us Challenge" has received a total of more than 2.5 million views in over 200 countries globally.

Timo Lumme, Director of IOC Television and Marketing, said, "The Best of Us Challenge is proving to be a very successful way for the IOC to engage young people in the digital space, using the popular online video platform YouTube.

"It's a fun initiative that offers the unique opportunity to compete against world famous athletes - and beat them! We will have additional challenges from Olympic athletes coming online through 2010, and we look forward to new participants getting involved in the Challenge in 2010, and hopefully winning a trip to the first-ever Youth Olympic Games".

Two Australian Olympic Champions, Natalie Cook and Steve Hooker, make up the world's best athletes who submitted challenges to the world's youth. To view their challenges click here>>>

IOC Release