Chicago 2016?

Chicago 2016 Celebrates Olympic Day by Providing Local Children Opportunities in Chicago and Beijing

Nearly 500 Chicago Day Campers Participate in Races Held at Chicago Parks

Chicago 2016 Select Two Local Youth to Attend Beijing Olympic Youth Camp during 2008 Games

Chicago (June 23, 2008) – Today the City of Chicago celebrated Olympic Day by hosting races for nearly 500 day campers across the city. Olympic Day, which was first held on June 23, 1894, commemorates the day French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin began to revive the Olympic Games and also marks the formation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For the past 21 years, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world have organized Olympic Day events to celebrate this day, and races have been a long-standing tradition.

The fun runs, which range from 200 to 400 meters, took place today at Shabbona, Douglas and Washington parks.

Also in honor of Olympic Day, Chicago 2016 recently selected two local students, Meelun McCray and Peter Park, to attend the Beijing Olympic Youth Camp during the Olympic Games this summer. As the camp’s official U.S. delegates, McCray and Park will travel to the Olympic Games, where they will attend the Opening Ceremony and various Olympic events, visit the Olympic Village and enjoy the sites and culture of Beijing China with hundreds of youth from around the world.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Youth Camp will be held from August 6 to 17, 2008, under the theme “Youth Create the Future.” The camp provides the opportunity for more than 400 youth ambassadors from every participating country in the Games (more than 200) to come together to be educated, inspired and motivated about the Olympic Movement.

Patrick Ryan, chairman and CEO of Chicago 2016, said, “It is so important that our local youth embraces the Olympic Games for everything they offer, just as many generations before them have. And there’s no better way to accomplish this mission than to facilitate activities that ensure our children are excited about being active and to educate them on the amount of opportunities that are available in our community and around the world.”

Chicago 2016 selected Park, 18, and McCray, 18, because of their dedication to sports and excellence in academics, leadership and community service. McCray recently graduated from Marshall High School, where she was captain of three sports teams—cross country, track and field, and the state championship basketball team. She was also made the state finals in track and field and chess.

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