US Triathlete Wins Trip to London 2012 Olympic Games
Ryan Celestain of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been chosen as the first winner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s “Show Your Best” initiative, a global campaign and video competition to help build involvement with the Olympic Movement among young people and create the next generation of Olympic fans. Celestain, the first of two grand prize winners to be announced, has been awarded a trip to the London 2012 Olympic Games, and portions of his video will appear in a TV spot that will be shown in the Stadium and broadcast around the world during the Games.
A triathlete who taught himself how to swim just three weeks before his first triathlon, Celestain’s winning submission was selected out of 20 finalists from all over the world, including Europe, South America, Australia and South Africa. The decision was made by the IOC and Olympic athletes, past and future, including Charmaine Crooks (Canada), Pernilla Wiberg (Sweden), Yang Yang (China) and Fabiana Murer (Brazil). Submissions were judged on the following criteria: how well the video represented the Olympic values (excellence, friendship, respect); how well it demonstrated the idea of “Showing Your Best”; and how inspiring the video was overall.
Asked what events he is excited to take in at the Summer Games, Celestain said, “Since my dream is to become a professional triathlete, I have been looking forward to the triathlon event since 2008. I would also love to watch the swimming events, especially with Phelps. But I love everything about Olympic sports and I am excited about all the events!”
Timo Lumme, Managing Director of IOC Television & Marketing Services SA, said, “We know that young people are spending much of their leisure time on social media channels, and wanted to create a campaign that would reach and engage them – building a correlation between an ‘Olympic best’ and everyone’s personal best. Not everyone can become an Olympic athlete, but everyone can strive to be their best at something. This campaign celebrates that effort.”
The “Show Your Best” campaign is a global effort encouraging people from all around the world to demonstrate their personal best with the chance to win a trip to the Olympic Games, among other prizes. Users can record, upload and share their talents and skills – whatever those may be – on the Olympic site www.olympic.org/showyourbest.
The next deadline to qualify for the grand prize is 15 April.