Baku 2015 European Games has today announced that Irish boxer Katie Taylor will be an international Athlete Ambassador for this summer’s inaugural event.
Ms Taylor, who took first place at the London 2012 Olympic Games, is also the current Irish and World Champion in the 60kg weight division.
Her medal haul at major competitions stands at 17 golds, including her Olympic title, five consecutive World Championships, six consecutive European Championships, and five European Union Championships, making her the most decorated athlete in the history of women’s Boxing.
Mr Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, said: “I am delighted to welcome Katie to the Baku 2015 team as an international Athlete Ambassador. To have a champion of her calibre backing the first European Games is a great endorsement of the event, and reflects the high level of competition we will see this summer.
“I am sure Katie will very much enjoy promoting the Games in Ireland through her role as an Athlete Ambassador, and we look forward to seeing her compete in Baku in June.”
Baku 2015 Athlete Ambassadors will represent their sports, and feature in marketing campaigns around the continent and on social media, to promote the first European Games.
Ms Taylor, 28, who has also represented the Republic of Ireland women’s national football team, said: “Baku 2015 will be great for European sport, and I am delighted to be involved both as an Athlete Ambassador and as a competitor. I will be doing my best to raise the Games’ profile and get the word out to as many people as possible.”
Mr Patrick Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland, said: “I have no doubt that Katie will do a great job of promoting Baku 2015 around the country, helping to build support for Ireland’s athletes in Azerbaijan this summer. As one of the world’s leading competitors in any sport, you couldn’t ask for a better ambassador for the first European Games.”
Ms Taylor joins British taekwondo athlete Jade Jones, French rhythmic gymnast Kseniya Moustafaeva, Denmark’s canoe sprinter René Holten Poulsen and Serbia’s Basketball 3×3 team of Dušan Domović Bulut, Marko Savic, Marko Zdero and Dejan Majstorovic as international Baku 2015 Athlete Ambassadors, with more to be announced in the near future.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Baku 2015 is the first ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent which will take place from 12 – 28 June 2015.
There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition.
Twelve of the sports will offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Those sports include Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Judo, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Volleyball and Wrestling.
Baku was awarded the Games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012. The Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) will organise and run the Games in cooperation with the EOC.
