Record medal haul for Argentina as Youth Olympics draw to a close
Eleven gold medals, six silvers and nine bronze places country sixth overall in the table. IOC chief praises hosts, suggests Buenos Aires would be an excellent location for 2030 Summer Games.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach, when asked to rate the Games out of 10, gave Argentina 11. “These Games have surpassed all our expectations. We did not expect so much success,” he enthused. “We made it more urban, with greater female participation, but the atmosphere, the quality of the Village and the fans, in every sense, it has all surpassed our expectations.”
“This has been an enormous effort over many years, with many people who thought responsibly of how it would turn out well,” added Alejandro Liftschitz, the director of communications for the Buenos Aires 2018 organising committee. “We are very satisfied with the work carried out and we have received feedback at an international level that has left us very pleasantly surprised.”
RECORD HAUL
On the sporting side, too, Argentina has a great deal to be proud of. The country’s athletes picked up a total of 11 gold medals, six silvers and nine bronze, placing it a laudable sixth overall in the table.
Of particular note were the exploits of Fausto Ruesga, a young basketball prospect for Bahía Blanca’s Olimpo. Ruesga tied a national record held by Javier Mascherano when he picked up two gold medals at the Games, forming part of Argentina’s successful basketball team before also taking the prize in the slam dunk competition.
While in the Youth Games individual and collective awards of course tak ese condp la cebe hind foster ingt he spirit of international solidarity and togetherness, those in charge of honing young talent will be delighted with the performances shown by their charges across the two weeks.
There was a tragic side to the Games, however. The world of basketball and sport in general was shaken by the news that International Basketball Federation (FIBA) secretary general and IOC member Patrick Baumann had passed away in Buenos Aires in the middle of the Olympics aged just 51, after suffering a heart attack. “It is a great shock which has hit us very
hard,” Bach lamented. “We are losing a young leader full of hope who symbolised the future of his sport. Our thoughts are with his wife, children and family.”
Werthein also mourned his colleague, who had been tipped to be a future IOC chief, stating that “Patrick wasabrilliants por tingofficia landa great person. I had the honour of being considered his friend. We are saddened by his sudden loss.”
The Olympic flame was finally extinguished on Thursday, putting an end to 12 days of competition and spectacle that captured the hearts of people in Buenos Aires and across the world. Argentina’s hero Ruesga was entrusted with handing the flame over to a delegation from Senegal, whowillhostt he next Yo uthOlympics in 2022.
The last word was had by Bach, who once more saluted an “incredible festival of sport” after a fortnight of tirelessly overseeing events in the city accompanied by Werthein and scores of volunteers who helped to make the event an unqualified success. The IOC chief also let slip that Buenos Aires could be in the running to host the senior Games in 2032. From the evidence of the last fortnight there is no doubt whatsoever that the city would relish the opportunity to show itself off in front of the world once again.