More than two hundred sets of medals were distributed. From June 23 to 27, nearly 3,500 young hopefuls competed in 20 sports and 78 disciplines at the Children’s and Youth Olympics in the South Bohemian Region. Athletes from the capital city of Prague dominated the overall ranking. They succeeded in this for the second time in the 21st edition of the largest multi-sport event in the Czech Republic.
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“When I drove around sports fields, I saw huge fights. I saw every step, every punch, every move executed completely and the fights were fascinating. I have also experienced situations where young athletes behaved according to the values of fair play,” recounted the governor of the South Bohemian Region, Martin Kuba, and continued: “It was a great pride to watch the courage and commitment with which the athletes were able to fight for a medal. Everyone put their heart into it and that made the Children and Youth Olympics amazing.”
The Deputy Governor of the South Bohemian Region, Pavel Klíma, also agrees with the fact that South Bohemia was engulfed in an unforgettable atmosphere for five days. “When we went into it two years ago with the Czech Olympic Committee and the organizing team of the South Bohemian Region, we had a dream and an idea – about the level of sport, the weather, the organization. And I feel that reality has surpassed that dream,” he said.
Only athletes from the capital city of Prague were able to surpass the 500-point mark and dominate the overall ranking. The second place was taken by the South Moravian Region with a difference of almost one hundred points, and the Central Bohemian Region completed the podium in close succession.
Closing ceremony of ODM 2024
Thousands of fans, including children from schools, were alive every day at the sports fields and in the Olympic House. Together with the spectators at the opening and closing ceremonies, the total attendance reached almost one hundred thousand people. “The South Bohemian teams were very aware that their classmates and friends came to cheer them on. The sports fields were full and according to the coaches, it helped them enormously and motivated them,” revealed the deputy governor of the South Bohemian Region, Pavel Klíma. However, there were dozens of successful athletes in the audience, including water slalom skiers Tereza Fišerová, Vít Přindiš and Václav Chaloupka, swimmers Kristýna Horská and Ondřej Gemov, soccer player David Lafata, baseball player Martin Mužík and others.
“I am convinced that everyone will leave South Bohemia with the experience of a lifetime. Even though it is a children’s and youth Olympics, we can use the term that it is becoming more mature. Everyone takes it more seriously every year, and if they didn’t approach it as a real Olympics, we would never have been able to carry out such a large project,” Filip Šuman, vice-chairman of the Czech Olympic Committee.
1 minute reading, 06/27/2024
1,500 hours of transmissions
On the Olympic platform czechteam.tv 30 live streams ran each day, totaling 1,500 hours. The cameras of Czech Television did not miss the largest multi-sport event in the Czech Republic. From Monday to Thursday, in addition to sports competitions, it also broadcast Studio ČT sport with moderator Tomáš Budka.
The organization of the largest multi-sport event would not be possible without volunteers. There were 120 of them in various positions this year. Above all, the Children and Youth Olympics would not exist without the joint involvement and close coordination of regions and cities, sports associations and clubs, and event partners. The Moravian-Silesian region is now taking over the Olympic relay, which in six months will welcome the winter edition in 2025, and the next summer ODM will take place in 2026 for the first time in history in the capital city of Prague.
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