Lausanne, Switzerland
August 11, 2015
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the list of Athlete Role Models for the Winter Youth Olympic Games which will take place in Lillehammer, Norway, in February 2016.
Rasmus Stjerne, from Hvidovre in Denmark, has been selected as the Role Model for curling.
Stjerne, who is 27, led the Danish men’s team to a 6th place finish at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games curling competition. He is a World Junior champion (2009) and has skipped the Danish men’s team to silver and bronze medals at the European Curling Championships and qualified Demark for three world men’s championships.
“I am very honoured to be selected as an Athlete Role Model for the Youth Olympic Games,” said Stjerne. “While I was too old to compete in the first Winter Youth Olympics, I feel that being asked to do this role now is a big acknowledgement of all the hard work that I put in, together with my team, in order to make it to the Sochi Olympic Games.”
“Curling has been very good to me,” he added. “This sport has given me so many incredible memories. I feel this is an opportunity to share some of my own experience with young and inspired curlers.”
Speaking about some of the experience he intends to share in Lillehammer, Rasmus explained: “When we won the World Juniors in 2009, I was quoted as saying ‘If you can dream it, you can live it.’ I stand by this quote today, but I would also add that ‘nothing good comes for cheap!’ A lot of hard work is required to reach the top but the pay-off is well worth it!”
Stjerne is one of 15 Athlete Role Models from different winter sport disciplines who will support the young athletes competing at the 2nd Winter Youth Olympic Games in Norway from 12 to 21 February 2016.
In total, sixteen National Olympic Committees have qualified teams for the Lillehammer 2016 curling competition based on qualification points gained during the 2013/14 and 2014/15 curling seasons at the European Junior Curling Challenge, Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships and the World Junior Curling Championships. See who’s qualified here: www.worldcurling.org/youth-olympic-games-qualification-update It will be the first time that a team from Brazil will compete at the event, along with a team from Turkey.
To be eligible to compete at the event curlers must be born between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2001.
Athletes will compete in two curling competitions. The first is for national mixed junior teams of four athletes. Following that, another competition will begin, comprising of inter-national mixed doubles teams (each team has one male and one female player, of two different nationalities).
At the World Junior Curling Championship 2015 in Tallinn, Estonia, a record 21 junior athletes taking part had competed at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck in January 2012. Read more about how their experience in Innsbruck has forged their competitive curling career here: www.worldcurling.org/feature-youth-olympians-the-class-of-2012
Re-live the 2012 event here: http://innsbruck2012.worldcurling.net
For more information on the Youth Olympic Games visit: www.olympic.org/yog and www.lillehammer2016.no #lillehammer2016 and #youtholympics