Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Four-time Olympic Champion Michael Johnson has visited Baku to meet Azerbaijan's aspiring young athletes and take part in the Olympic Day celebrations on Baku Boulevard.

Johnson is considered one of the greatest sprinters in the history of track and field athletics. He currently holds the Olympic and World 400m records. He also had the Olympic and World 200m records for 12 years from 1996 to 2008.

As an ambassador for BP, one of Baku 2015's Official Partners in Azerbaijan, Johnson visited the Baku 2015 European Games Operation Committee (BEGOC) headquarters and met BEGOC staff.

He also went on to make a tour of the newly-built Baku 2015 Athletes Village, which will host over 9,000 athletes and officials during next summer's inaugural European Games. Earlier, he observed closely the ongoing construction of the National Stadium.

The Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, Simon Clegg said, "It was a privilege and an honor to welcome one of the world's greatest Olympians to our Baku 2015 headquarters, and show him how our preparations for the first-ever European Games are progressing."

"Michael's knowledge of the Games world is unrivalled, so it was an excellent opportunity for us that he shared his expertise with our staff here at BEGOC, and passed on his advices to future aspiring Azerbaijani athletes at the Olympic Day celebrations," he said.

Johnson said it has been a pleasure for him to be in Baku and witness the growing enthusiasm for sport in Azerbaijan.

"I understand how great and inspirational it is to host such a splendid event. The first European Games is a fantastic opportunity for the athletes of this country to make history and achieve successes," he said.

Baku 2015, Europe's first senior multi-sport event, will gather more than 6,000 athletes from the 49 countries affiliated to the European Olympic Committees to compete in 19 sports in Azerbaijan's capital on June 12-28.

The Baku Games' program includes aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball 3x3, beach soccer, boxing, canoe sprint, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, judo, karate, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball, and wrestling.

Nine sports will offer qualification opportunities for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics in 2016, which is supposed to attract more attention to the Games.