Gymnastics Embraces New Leadership

(ATR) A decisive victory for Morinari Watanabe, new president-elect of the International Gymnastics Federation.

Compartir
Compartir articulo
infobae

(ATR) It's been more than two decades since an international sports federation has been led by a Japanese.

Morinari Watanabe was the winner at the the International Gymnastics Federation congress in Tokyo. Watanabe received 100 votes, while Georges Guelzec garnered 19. He will assume the presidency on Jan. 1, 2017.

The last Japanese president of an international federation was Ichiro Ogimura, who led the International Table Tennis Federation from 1987 to 1994.

Watanabe said he hopes to promote "innovation in gymnastics," during his tenure. He is the first new president of the FIG in 20 years, taking over from Bruno Grandi of Italy who is retiring.

"Thank you very much for trusting me and believing in me," Watanabe said following his election victory. "Today we sent a strong message to the world. Our gymnastics is not a sport that is popular only at the Olympic Games. Gymnastics is now and will be the king of sports."

Watanabe comes to the FIG presidency from the Japanese Gymnastics Association. Watanabe joined the national federation in 2001, contributing to a revival of Japanese gymnastics. After going medal-less in 2000, Japan has won a gymnastics medal in every Olympics since 2004.

Vasily Titov from Russia, Nellie Kim from Belarus, and Luo Chaoyi from China were elected as the three FIG vice-presidents.

Written by Aaron Bauer

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.

Recent Articles

The Friendship Games organized against Russia against the IOC will have the participation of 70 countries

The World Friendship Games (WFG) will feature competitions in 36 sports and will award 283 medals to the winners. The Russian Government announced that a press conference will soon be held to present them with more details and clarified that the invitations to participate are addressed to athletes and not to countries.
The Friendship Games organized against Russia against the IOC will have the participation of 70 countries

Clues about the pebetero: it will not be in the stadium but in the middle of Paris and in public view

From France, information indicates that the site chosen for the Olympic fire to be lit since July 26 would be the emblematic Tuileries Garden. Official sources did not confirm the fact, but they recognize the idea that it is located in the heart of Paris and in full view of fans.
Clues about the pebetero: it will not be in the stadium but in the middle of Paris and in public view

Nearly a thousand boats will welcome the torch in France

The parade in the Mediterranean will be minutes before disembarkation at the Old Port of Marseille; they must meet certain requirements and apply to participate.
Nearly a thousand boats will welcome the torch in France

France says it will “be ready” to ensure safety at the Olympic Games while raising the alert level

The attack in Moscow threatened the whole of Europe and security in Paris is once again in the spotlight, just four months after the parade of delegations on the Seine River.
France says it will “be ready” to ensure safety at the Olympic Games while raising the alert level

Will Paris 2024 have its red carpet?

Although all the expectations for July 26 are set on an opening ceremony that promises to be extraordinary, it is likely that, in the hour before the party, the world will attend a parade of luminaries from sports, arts and entertainment.
Will Paris 2024 have its red carpet?