Baku 2015 names int’l athlete ambassadors
By Sara Rajabova
Baku 2015 European Games announced on December 16 the first international athletes who will become ambassadors for next summer’s inaugural event.
The high-profile athletes have been selected to represent their sports, and will feature in marketing campaigns around the continent to promote the first ever European Games.
French rhythmic gymnast Kseniya Moustafaeva and Denmark’s canoe sprinter Rene Holten Poulsen have been selected along with Serbia’s Basketball 3x3 team of Dusan Domovic Bulut, Marko Savic, Marko Zdero and Dejan Majstorovic.
Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, said the Ambassador program will see support for the inaugural European Games from high profile athletes from around Europe as well as Azerbaijani medal hopefuls. “So we are confident it will be a success.”
“I would like to congratulate the first of our international Athlete Ambassadors that have been selected and we are very much looking forward to working with them and the remaining Ambassadors who will be announced over the coming months to help promote Baku 2015,” Clegg said.
The six international athletes will feature in extensive marketing campaigns in their home countries and on social media to promote the European Games.
“It is very exciting for an innovative sport like Basketball 3x3 to be included in a major multi-sport event such as the European Games, and we are sure that fans will love the speed and skill of our game. We are looking forward to competing against Europe’s other top teams at Baku 2015,” Domovic Bulut, 29, who is considered one of the world’s best players, said
Moustafaeva , in turn, voiced excitement for representing Gymnastics ahead of Baku 2015.
“With all five disciplines of Gymnastics featuring at the European Games, I am sure it will be a wonderful event with the best athletes in Europe,” she said.
Poulsen, who won a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, said the Canoe Sprint competition at Baku 2015 is sure to be a memorable occasion. “It is an honor to be selected as an Ambassador for my sport for the first ever European Games.”
Baku 2015 recently announced eleven Azerbaijani Athlete Ambassadors and there are plans to announce more international Athlete Ambassadors in the near future.
Baku 2015 is the first ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent which will take place from 12 – 28 June 2015.
There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition.
Eleven of the sports will offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Those sports include Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekw