TEAM: The Opening Ceremony fireworks may be on the horizon, but the one month countdown to the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be no party.
Chef de Mission Susie O’Neill used the milestone to remind her 89 Australian chargers to stay focused and determined in this final burst of training.
“Make sure you don’t leave any stone unturned,” she said in a private video message to athletes.
“One month to go- do your best so that when you get to the competition you can relax and know that you couldn’t have done anything else.”
With their eyes on the prize, a great sense of pride is surging in the Aussie camp.
“We can't wait to represent our country wearing the green and gold,” beach volleyball player Phoebe Bell said.
“From what I have seen, Nanjing is going to be a priceless experience and will just be a mini version of the Olympic Games. The venues and athletes village also look incredible.”
Bell and partner Britt Kendall are typical of an Australian Youth Olympic Team sure to do O’Neill and Australia proud. Over the next month some athletes will tackle their final exams, or major training camps, but Bell and Kendall will contest both the U21 and U19 Beach Volleyball Championships.
“We both have a pretty full on schedule at the moment and in the next few weeks,” Bell said from a training camp in Denmark.
Bell and Kendall next go to Cyprus for the U21 event followed by Portugal for the U19 tournament.
“The World Championships being held just before Nanjing will be an ideal lead up to the event. It will allow us to compete internationally against the best in the world and therefore give us more experience and knowledge that we can take with us to YOG.”
Amid the madness of preparing for the second summer YOG, Australia’s rowers Tom Schramko and twins Miller and Tyler Ferris will contest the Junior Rowing World Championships in Hamburg, Germany from 6-10 August.
Meanwhile, some athletes are already recording victories to wet their Nanjing appetite.
Boxer Caitlin Parker won the 32nd Golden Glove of Vojvodina Tournament in Serbia over the weekend- her third win at the international event.
Back on the Gold Coast sprinter Rachel Pace had a blistering performance at the Down Under Track and Field Championships, smashing Sally Pearson’s 2002 U18 meet record in the 100m hurdles (13.81).
“Very happy with the meet and breaking Sally's record,” the 16-year-old said.
Unfortunately, two young athletes have suffered heartbreak in the final run to the YOG, with triathlon’s Matthew Hauser and rugby player Eva Karpani forced to withdraw due to injury. Karpani has been replaced by 18-year-old Tayla Stanford while Hauser’s replacement is yet to be confirmed.
Australia will be represented across 23 sports when the Games begin on August 16th - with men’s hockey5s and women’s rugby sevens the two Australian team sports. Both teams have their final preparation camps in Sydney over the coming weeks.
The Australian team will convene in Sydney on Tuesday 12 August for a pre Games camp before flying to Nanjing the following day. At the camp, the Team Flagbearer will be announced.
Taya Conomos
olympics.com.au
@AUSOlympicTeam
