Inaugural Olympic Virtual Series Closes on "Olympic Day" Today, 23 June with Live Broadcast

LAUSANNE — The Inaugural Olympic Virtual Series (OVS), the first-ever, Olympic-licensed event for physical and non-physical virtual sports, will conclude TODAY, 23 June, following the Olympic Virtual Series Grand Finale live broadcast.

The Olympic Virtual Series Grand Finale schedule is available HERE.

Watch the OVS Grand Finale live HERE.

The winners of the Olympic Virtual Series Baseball, Motor Sport and Sailing Events will receive an Olympic Virtual Series Plaque (winner, 1st runner-up, 2nd runner-up). The winner (first place only) of each of the competitive events will also have the opportunity to hold the Olympic Virtual Series Trophy at a special awarding occasion to be organised later in 2021, subject to travel possibilities during this global pandemic. More details will be announced.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) collaborated with five International Sports Federations and game publishers to produce the the new Series — which began on 13 May and concludes today, 23 June — which has mobilised virtual sport, esports and gaming enthusiasts all around the world in order to reach new Olympic audiences, while also encouraging the development of physical and non-physical forms of sports in line with the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews are available with IOC Leadership, Sports Federations Leadership, and select participants of each OVS event, including:

Kit McConnell, Sports Director, International Olympic Committee

Christopher Carroll, Director of Digital Engagement, International Olympic Committee

World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) — eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020, Konami

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) — Zwift, Zwift Inc.

World Rowing

World Sailing — Virtual Regatta, Virtual Regatta SAS

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) — Gran Turismo, Polyphony Digital

OLYMPIC VIRTUAL SERIES "OLYMPIC DAY" EVENTS

BASEBALL EVENT FINALS

eBASEBALL POWERFUL PRO BASEBALL 2020 Finals — 23 June

Since the start of the OVS, players from Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei have battled for a chance to be part of the Tournament and/or Home Run Derby finals.

POWERFUL PRO BASEBALL TOURNAMENT FINALS (PlayStation 4)

Haru Tsuji

Kazutaka Machida

Yuji Iseka

Yoshinori Kato

Hidenori Bando

Naoki Waki

Junki Nogami

Yosuke Fujimoto

Syoma Mori

Yuta Motsizuki

Takaki Arai

HOME RUN DERBY FINALS (Nintendo Switch)

Ryohei Oosaka

Yusuke Tominaga

Yusuke maeda

Hiroaki Watanabe

Kohei Aizawa

Taiki Horiike

Rena Higuchi

Takaya Sato

ROWING EVENT*

Row for a Cause Winner — 23 June

Since May 31, participants have contributed in the Rio to Tokyo Rowing Event while simultaneously supporting three of the Olympic Refuge Foundation Programmes — which helped champion the Olympic Refuge Foundation Programme, which supports young people affected by displacement through sport. On Olympic Day, participants will be encouraged to make one final push towards Tokyo. You can participate here.

CYCLING EVENT FINAL

24-Hour Group Ride — 23 June, "Olympic Day"

The final Group Ride will take place over a 24-hour period, with a different person leading the ride each hour, including:

14:00 CEST — UCI President (David Lappartient) + Michael Rogers

15:00 CEST — Georgia Simmerling

16:00 CEST — Anna van der Breggen

17:00 CEST — Alberto Contador

18:00 CEST — Shanaze Reade

19:00 CEST — Sir Chris Hoy

20:00 CEST — Fabian Cancellara

21:00 CEST — Kristin Armstrong

MOTOR SPORT EVENT

World Finals Broadcast — 23 June

Played out on Gran TurismoTM Sport under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the Olympic Virtual Series Motor Sport Event comprised an 11-day global qualifier where tens of thousands of players battled to set the fastest lap in a time trial to win a chance to represent their country in the World Finals.

Set to be broadcast on 23 June, the finals will feature the top 16 drivers from different regions and includes established Gran Turismo stars as well as some exciting new talent. With three races, and double points at stake for the final race, the stage is set for a thrilling finale to this exciting innovation in digital motor sport. A fantastic commentary team and high-quality production will complement the thrilling on-track action and make this a compelling watch.

The 16 world finalists, in order of their qualifying times, are:

1. ITALY: Valerio Gallo

2. CANADA: Andrew Brooks

3. FRANCE: Baptiste Beauvois

4. JAPAN: Takuma Miyazono

5. CHILE: Angel Inostroza

6. SPAIN: Jose Serrano

7. GERMANY: Mikail Hizal

8. BRAZIL: Igor Fraga

9. HUNGARY: Patrik Blazsan

10. CZECH REPUBLIC: Nikita Moysov

11. GREECE: Konstantinos Konstantinou

12. AUSTRALIA: Adam Wilk

13. USA: Daniel Solis

14. HONG KONG: Stanford Chau

15. THAILAND: Nathayos Sirigaya

16. MALAYSIA: Taj Aiman

SAILING EVENT FINALS

Finals — 23 June

INSHORE SERIES

Nacra 17: 23 June — 19:00 UTC (21:00 CEST)

Watch for Bart Lambriex (NED), an Olympic 49er sailor and top eSailor, to keep up the high level of playing and qualify for his 3rd out of 3 finals in the Olympic Virtual Series. He grabbed one of the four available international qualification spots for Tokyo.

eSailer Joan Cardona, another Tokyo Olympic qualifier, is one to watch in the Sailing Event final. He is the Spain SailGP Team's youngest member, but has gained a reputation as one of the country’s top up-and-coming competitors.

OFFSHORE SERIES — RIO TO TOKYO RACE

The race started at 19:00 UTC (21:00 CEST) and will conclude on "Olympic Day"

A close regatta where participants have chosen to race four different ways around the world to see who will finish first. The main group with the leaders has chosen to sail the right way around, south of Africa, through the Indian Ocean, into the narrow streets of Bali, Indonesia and Malaysia. With only 10 NM in between the top 10 of the regatta, expect a very exciting finish of the Olympic Virtual Series Regatta — Rio to Tokyo.

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MEDIA ASSETS

Logos and/or photos are available here

OVS video is available here

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The IOC has appointed specialists in virtual sports, DreamHack Sports Games, for the marketing and production of the Olympic Virtual Series.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Melissa A.E. Sanders, Tadpole Communications

+1.404.909.6726 | melissa@tadpolecomm.net | press@dreamhacksportsgames.com

David Gardner, Tadpole Communications

+1.310.291.1156 | david@tadpolecomm.net | press@dreamhacksportsgames.com

IOC Media Relations Team:

+41 21 621 6000 | pressoffice@olympic.org

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