IOC head Bach commends Budapest on Olympic Qualifier Series

Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, has lauded Budapest for hosting the second stop in the inaugural Olympic Qualifier Series after the four-day best-in-class competition for athletes in BMX freestyle, breaking, sport climbing, and skateboarding came to a close.

“Congratulations to Budapest. The atmosphere here was great. The event combined the joy of sport, the culture of these urban sports, and the athletes’ determination to make their individual Olympic dreams come true,” Bach said in a statement late on Sunday.

“The two stops in Budapest and Shanghai made a perfect first edition of the OQS. Thank you to both hosts for their creativity and determination to make the two events a great success,” he said.

Over 150 athletes successfully secured their quota places for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the OQS, hosted by Shanghai in May and Budapest in June.

Balázs Fürjes, an IOC member who co-chairs the contest’s organizing committee, said it was a “tremendous honour” for Budapest to host the OQS after Shanghai.

“We are grateful to the Shanghai organisers for getting the OQS off to a great start, and we are proud to have seen it through to its final stage,” he added.

The Budapest OQS drew 60,000 spectators to the Ludovika University of Public Service campus. Over 450 athletes from more than 120 national federations across all continents competed at the festival-style event, details on olympics.com

The event is broadcast on television in nearly 100 countries, and over 200 foreign journalists are covering the competition.

Read our report and photo gallery here: Festival-like Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest’s downtown – UPDATED

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