Marisol Casado, President of International Triathlon Union, has been appointed as a member of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2nd Youth Olympic Summer Games in Najing, China. The appointment is her first major role as a member of the IOC since her election at the 122nd IOC Session in February.

With an inspirational concept of inspiring the world’s youth toward sport, the first-ever Youth Olympic Games is set to be hosted in Singapore this August. ITU is committed to contributing to the inaugural event, introducing truly youth-friendly formats of races: A sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run) and 4x mixed team relay triathlon (2 boys and 2 girls per team).

President Casado said, “It is a great honour to serve on the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2nd Youth Olympic Games. Preparations for Singapore 2010 have been organised very well, and I would like to listen and learn from my colleagues to dedicate my best possible effort to this new responsibility.

“I believe that the first edition will become a catalyst to stop children from leaving sport, while the second edition will play a crucial role of keeping the movement more sustainable. The Chinese Olympic Committee already proved its organisational excellence in Beijing 2008, which is firm evidence that Nanjing 2014 will be a great event. Working closely together with my colleagues and members of the LOC, I am thrilled to see excitement growing in this vibrant Chinese city, but also among the world’s youth.”

Biography

Marisol Casado was elected President of the International Triathlon Union in 2008, at the ITU Congress in her hometown of Madrid, Spain. Casado has extensive experience and expertise in the Olympic sport of triathlon, being one of the founding members of the Spanish Triathlon Federation and has also been heavily involved in the creation of the ITU. She served as Secretary General of the Spanish Triathlon Federation (1989–1994 and 1997–2008), concurrently acting as Treasurer for the ITU (1992–1994 and 2000–2008).

A member of the Spanish Olympic Committee (1992–1994 and 2000 to present), Casado has served as President to its Women and Sport Commission since 2004. A former President of the European Triathlon Union, comprising of 41 federations (2002—2008), she has received the silver medal award “Real Orden del Merito Deportivo Espan ol” for her service to sport.