Gold for ‘Sport for Hope Centre’ athlete Sydney Siame
Sydney Siame (ZAM) struck gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China this week winning the 100m sprint and becoming the first Zambian to win in this discipline at an Olympic event. Sydney has been training at the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Sport for Hope Centre in Zambia over the past year and a half.
AthleticsThe multi-sport complex in Lusaka, inaugurated in 2010, aims to promote and facilitate access to sports for young athletes and local communities.
The 16-year old won with the impressive time of 10.56sec, just one hundredth of a second ahead of Kenta Oshima (JPN) who took second place. Sydney’s achievement will no doubt prove an inspiration to other young athletes at the Sport for Hope Centre and help encourage more young Zambians to take up sport.
With the emphasis on having a positive impact within the community, Sydney Siame really has embodied what the Sport for Hope Centre set out to achieve.
Sydney commented "It's been so long for Zambia to win a medal like this. I think the people at home are very happy."
The Sport for Hope Programme aims to provide athletes in developing countries with the opportunities to practice sport and be educated in the values of Olympism. Believing that every individual should have access to sport, the IOC works continuously towards making this vision a reality.
A second Sport for Hope Centre opened a few weeks ago in Port-au-Prince, Haiti