(ATR) International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach visits Lima, Peru’s high-performance center ahead of the start of the IOC Session.
Bach and IOC deputy director general Pere Miro inspected the Videna venue cluster on Sept. 10 as organizers of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games say they are "accelerating our Games preparations". The tour was led by Lima 2019 president Carlos Neuhaus, Peruvian National Olympic Committee president Pedro del Rosario and Peruvian Institute of Sport president Oscar Fernández Cáceres.
"This is the first time Peru is hosting a multi-sport event of this scale and we are using this unique opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for our country," Neuhaus said in a statement.
"We have accelerated our Games preparations in recent months and we have announced the contractor for the Athletes’ Village, which is scheduled to be completed in February 2019."
Following the selection of Besco-Besalco as the construction company for the Pan American Village, Lima 2019 has opened competitive tenders for three other venue projects, including Videna, Callao and Villa María del Triunfo. These clusters will host many of the 39 sports on the Lima 2019 program such as archery, cycling, hockey, rugby sevens, swimming, taekwondo and volleyball.
While Bach did not comment on the speed of preparations for the event that is less than two years away, he welcomed the opportunity to inspect the progress first hand.
"It is a pleasure to be surrounded by athletes and to visit this high-performance centre, which brings back good memories from when I was an athlete," Bach said in a statement, reminiscing on his time as an Olympic fencer.
"I hope the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games will be a huge success in Peru. Peruvians are passionate about sports and I am sure they will be successful."
The Lima 2019 Pan Ams run from July 26 to Aug. 11 followed by the Parapan Am Games Aug. 23 to Sept. 1.
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Written by Kevin Nutley
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