Marketing Report London 2012 - International Olympic Committee

Chapter One / INSPIRE A GENERATION 15
New stars were born as well, with Youth Olympic Games champion Chad Le Clos, from South Africa,
beating his idol Phelps in the 200m butterfly to signal a new era in Olympic swimming, and 17-yearold
American Gabby Douglas winning both the individual and team gymnastics titles.
In total, there were 193 athletes in London who had competed in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games
in Singapore in 2010 and they won an impressive 25 medals between them, including eight golds.
Across London’s state-of-the-art venues, numerous world and Olympic records were broken,
while the history books were also rewritten as women’s boxing made its Olympic debut and Brunei
Darussalam, Saudi Arabia and Qatar sent female athletes to the Games for the first time. Their
participation means that all 204 National Olympic Committees have now been represented by
women at the Olympic Games.
The rapturous reception that athletes enjoyed in every arena ensured that London 2012 would
be a Games they could never forget, while their superb sporting performances meant that a new
generation of Olympic fans was well and truly inspired.
“It has been an extraordinary fortnight, just amazing,
amazing scenes. What I witnessed has been both uplifting
and energising. I don’t think any country – or any city – that
has staged a Games is ever the same afterwards. The British
people, day after day, have filled our stadiums and turned them
into theatres of sport. That, for me, has been the defining part
of this two-week experience.”
Seb Coe, Chairman, London 2012