Butterfield & Duffy Awarded Scholarships
A total of 16 triathletes including Bermuda’s own Tyler Butterfield and Flora Duffy have been awarded London 2012 Olympic Scholarships by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity’s World Programme Fund.
This is the largest number of awards in ITU’s history as an Olympic sport. The recipients include eight men and eight women from National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that meet the Olympic Solidarity aims.
Olympic Solidarity aims to offer assistance to all NOCs, but in particular those with the greatest needs to allow them to develop their own structures to favour the expansion of sport in their countries. Olympic Scholarships for Athletes “London 2012″ is a key mission of the Olympic Solidarity programme in order to allow talented athletes to prepare for the London Summer Olympic Games.
The athletes nominated by Olympic Solidarity come from countries as diverse as Barbados, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Slovakia, Denmark, Chile, Bermuda, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ireland, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Namibia, and Monaco. They have been identified by their own NOCs as potential stars on the international triathlon scene.
Marisol Casado, ITU President and IOC Member, said “Triathlon is one of the fastest growing Olympic sports and athletes are emerging from every corner of the world. Global sport development has always been one of our main aims which is in keeping with the spirit of the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity Programmes, and today I am extremely pleased to see these athletes being helped on their way to international and Olympic success. The ITU is committed to further developing the sport; in particular because we believe triathlon promotes the Olympic ideals, and through the Olympic programme, can help sport reach more people throughout the world.”
Libby Burrell, the ITU Development Director, said “Sport development is all about athletes being given opportunities to maximise their potential. Olympic Solidarity Scholarships have made this possible in the past for many young triathletes and this year we will see the largest ever group of triathletes reap the benefits of this wonderful programme. ITU is extremely grateful to Olympic Solidarity for recognising the triathletes nominated by their NOCs for these scholarships.”
CONGRATULATIONS FLORA AND TYLER. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, YOU BOTH DESERVE THIS.