OLYMPIC REVIEW19Coaching Course in MongoliaThe Mongolian NOCreports that the newnational coachingdevelopment coursehas got under way inUlaanbaatar under theauspices of OlympicSolidarity and the NOC, and in closecollaboration with thenational weightliftingfederation. The openingceremony was held atOlympic House inUlaanbaatar, in thepresence of theMongolian-bornOlympic Solidarityexpert TapsirMendikhan, who iscurrently SecretaryGeneral of the KazakhWeightlifting Federationand a national coach. IOC President Jacques Rogge visited Latvia from18-20 February at the invitation of Latvia'sPresident Valdis Zatlers and President of theLatvian Olympic Committee (LOC) AldonsVrublevskis. The IOC President toured theOlympic Sports Centre in Riga and metOlympians, former Olympians and young athletesaspiring to one day become Olympians. Hevisited a gymnastics school, started by Olympicmedalists Igors Vihrovs and JevgenijsSapronenko, and met javelin silver medalistsVadims Vasilevskis (2004 in Athens) and AinarsKovals (2008 in Beijing) - as well as with former Olympic javelin champions Janis Lusisand Dainis Kula. The President then spoke with young judokasand swimmers, who were training at the centre."Especially praiseworthy are Latvia's effortsfor the benefit of young people, by creating aspecial games movement, that will be the basisof future achievements," he commented."Be assured that IOC will be with you, as notonly are you active in the development of yourcountry's sports life, but also actively support thevalues of the Olympic Movement"He also met legendary basketball playerUljana Semjonova, who is currently head of theLatvian Olympians' Social Foundation. PresidentRogge and Semjonova both competed in the1976 Games in Montreal where Semjonova wonthe first of her two Olympic gold medals. During his visit President Rogge alsoattended the FIL World Cup luge event at Sigulda. BelowPresident Rogge meets young judokasat the Olympic Sports Centre in RigaThe NOC of St Vincent and the Grenadinesawarded the 2010 IOC "Sport - Inspiring YoungPeople" Trophy to Sabrina Mitchell-Sutton and IanSardine at a ceremony organised in partnershipwith the St Vincent and the Grenadines athleticsteam (TASVG). Ian Sardine and Sabrina Mitchell-Sutton were rewarded for their tireless commitmentto the development of sport among young people in the respective communities and on a nationallevel. All the details on www.svgnoc.orgPRESIDENTROGGE VISITSLATVIAIOCTROPHYAWARDED INSTVINCENT AND THEGRENADINESBULGARIAPRESENTSTROPHYTOVALENTINYORDANOVBRAZIL'STOPATHLETESThe Bulgarian NOC has held a ceremony topresent the IOC "Sport - Inspiring Young People"Trophy to Valentin Yordanov, Olympic wrestlingchampion at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlantaand seven-time world and European champion.The Trophy was presented to him by NOCPresident Stefka Kostadinova, in recognition ofthe activities and programmes he has created for young athletes.AboveYordanov taking part in the Olympic TorchRelay ahead of the 2004 Games in AthensDiamond League champion Fabiana Murer (polevault) and three-time world volleyball championMurilo Endres were named best Brazilian athletesof 2010. The Brazilian Olympic award alsorecognised the best athletes in 47 disciplines, aswell as the best coaches. On 9 December, theBrazilian NOC opened the new Brazil TeamTraining Centre. This is part of the Olympic TrainingCentre, a project that will use existing facilities aswell as new ones yet to be built, and will form partof the sporting legacy from the 2016 OlympicGames in Rio de Janeiro. RightPole vaulter Fabiana MurerNEWS INBRIEF