Paralympians Promote Rowing in Chicago

On the occasion of the visit of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission next week, Chicago Indoor Rowing (CIRC) will host a Meet & Greet event in Monroe Harbour, USA, on 4 April.

Paralympians Emma Preuschl and Jamie Dean (USA) will be participating in a Rowing exhibition and promoting the Paralympic Movement. Preuschl and Dean were athletes on Team USA at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, winning a silver medal in the Mixed Coxed Four (LTAMix4) event.

The exhibition event will essentially provide youths in the Chicago area who are active in various sport programmes for people with a disability with the chance to meet Paralympians who have achieved success in their respective sport. Parents will also have the opportunity to meet the athletes and participate in an open exchange about the Paralympic Movement.

Programmes which are participating include the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association (GLASA), Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), the National Centre on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD), and the Chicago Park District Adaptive Sports (CPD).

As from April, the IOC Evaluation Commission, including IPC representative Greg Hartung, will visit the four Candidate Cities bidding for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The visits will be carried out by the Commission from 4-7 April in Chicago (USA), 16-19 April in Tokyo (Japan), 29 April to 2 May in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and 5-8 May in Madrid (Spain). The Commission will spend four days with each bid committee.

The final decision on the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be made by the full IOC Membership during the IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2009.