Jordan athletes celebrate International Youth Day in Nanjing

AMMAN — The Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) delegation celebrated International Youth Day on Tuesday upon their arrival in Nanjing for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, according to a statement from the JOC. There were smiles all round from the JOC delegation who celebrated International Youth Day at the Youth Olympic Village with some of the 18,000 international volunteers who are helping out at the Games which begin on Saturday. The six athletes, who are competing in swimming, taekwondo, gymnastics and fencing, signed autographs for fans and chatted with the volunteers to learn about the city and share stories about Jordan. “It was particularly appropriate to be celebrating the achievements of the world’s youth as we arrived in Nanjing for the second Summer Youth Olympic Games. We are confident that our young athletes will continue to inspire Jordanians back home both today [Tuesday], on International Youth Day, and throughout the Games. The warm welcome we received from the Nanjing volunteers was fantastic and made our athletes feel very much at home,” Lana Al Jaghbeer, JOC secretary general, was quoted in the statement as saying.  With health concerns and the dangers of young people falling into anti-social behaviour high on the agenda in Jordan, the JOC is tackling these issues via Living Sport, a national sport and healthy living engagement campaign. The Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games will provide an exciting opportunity for some of Jordan’s most promising young athletes to compete on the international stage and demonstrate the Living Sport vision: for sport and healthy living to play a role in the lives of all Jordanians.