Performance squad athlete Andrew Hood has been selected for Team GB for the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore from 14-26 August.
Hood, from Cupar, is one of two triathletes along with Wales’ Eleanor Thorogood who will be part of the 40-strong British team across 16 Olympic sports named today by the British Olympic Association.
The athletes, all aged 14-18, will participate alongside 3,600 competitors from all 205 National Olympic Committees in a competition schedule which includes all 26 sports on the London 2012 Olympic Programme.
Hood said: “I’m really happy to have been selected for the Youth Olympics. It was a definite aim of mine for this year and I can’t wait to experience the atmosphere of such a big event.
“2016 feels like it’s a long way off, but I think this will be a great springboard for me, especially with the 2014 Commonwealth Games set to take place just half an hour from where I’m going to University in Stirling.”
The British contingent will also include 2009 World 10m platform diving champion Tom Daley, who was Team GB’s youngest competitor at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and Victoria Ohuruogu, the 400m England Indoor Under-20 Champion and younger sister of current Olympic 400m Champion Christine.
The athletes will be joined in Singapore by 1,450 officials, 1,500 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers, and more than 370,000 spectators.
In creating the YOG, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.
The YOG will provide a balance between sport, education and culture. In addition to participating in their sport competitions, athletes will also take part in a Culture and Education Programme (CEP) – which includes 50 activities focused on five themes: Olympism, Skills Development, Well-being and Healthy Lifestyle, Social Responsibility and Expression.