Buenos Aires, January 18 - They came into existence with the ingenuity of hundreds of primary school
students in the city of Buenos Aires. The instructions were complex: to trace a photograph of an athlete
in a pose related to his or her sport in one continuous stroke, without lifting their pencils.
The results are the pictograms for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games that are being
presented by the Organising Committee this Thursday.
More than 500 students participated in the project, which is part of the cultural, educational, and sport
programme for Buenos Aires 2018 that is bringing the values of Olympism to hundreds of thousands of
boys and girls in schools throughout Buenos Aires.
There are 34 pictograms in total, representing sports and disciplines that will compete at Buenos Aires
2018. Some were a big challenge; especially those symbolising the new sports that will debut in
Buenos Aires, such as breaking and sport climbing.
How do you draw a b-boy or a b-girl by tracing a photograph and without lifting your pencil? And
what about athletes scaling a huge rock?
The children’s skills were key, and the help of their teachers, fundamental.
"Our objective for the Buenos Aires 2018 pictograms was to show the essence of our project, and the
children and youth from Buenos Aires are the centre of our Games," said Gerardo Werthein, president
of the Buenos Aires 2018 Organising Committee.
"The pictograms are a gift from the schoolchildren in Buenos Aires to the young athletes of the world,
he added.
The project, directed by the design agency Prójimo, started with dozens of young Argentine athletes
doing poses related to their sport in front of the camera and under the supervision of the Argentine
sports federations.
Using these pictures, notebooks were made and handed out to more than 500 primary students from
both public and private schools.
The four-month process finished at the desks of graphic designers as they looked for common points
among the drawings to create the pictograms. They were then approved by the international
federation of each sport.
The young athletes who served as models for the pictograms were:
Valentina Pisani (Athletics), Yovela Petrucci (Badminton), Brenda Romero (Breaking), Valentín Rossi
(Canoe), Marcos Méndez (Cycling), Richard Kierkegaard (Equestrian), Guido Liwski (Fencing),
Constanza Cerundolo (Hockey 5s), Guadalupe Acevedo y Luca Ridao (Judo), Juan Ignacio Méndez
(Swimming), Abril De Candido (Weightlifting), Steffania Ceballos y Eduardo Lovera (Wrestling),
Exequiel Tuya (Roller Speed Skating), Pedro Dickson (Rowing), Delfina Orlandini (Triathlon), Joaquín
Molina (Karate), Alexis Orencel (Table Tennis), Gerónimo Luteral (Sailing), Agustina Giannasio
(Archery), Juan Hierrezuelo (Basketball 3x3), Brenda Churin (Beach Volleyball), Mateo Gouk (Sport
Climbing), Victoria Saputo (Boxing), Santiago Rufino (Futsal), Micaela Herbon (Rhythmic Gymnastics),
Julián Jato (Artistic Gymnastics), Lucía Casajuana (Shooting), Vicente Marzilio (Golf), Milagros Cali
(Taekwondo), Joaquín Aravena (Beach Handball), Celina Saubidet Birkner (Sailing), Ignacio Mendy
(Rugby Sevens), Sebastián Báez (Tennis), Juan Girard (Triathlon), Belén Serrano (Modern Pentathlon),
Juan Ignacio Méndez (Diving).
Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee
prensa@buenosaires2018.com
About the Youth Olympic Games
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international, multi-sport event for young athletes aged 15-18
with an educative and cultural nature that aims to foster the Olympic values in youth. The event, which
takes place every four years (in its two versions, winter and summer, that alternate every two years), is
promoted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic
Games will be held from October 6 -18 with the participation of 3998 athletes from 206 countries.
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