The Paris 2008 Bid Committee has unveiled a list of international athletes supporting its 2008 Olympic bid. They include Hungarian swimmer Krisztina Egerzegi, Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin and Ethopian runner Haile Gebreselassie, joining U.S. tennis star John McEnroe and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci.
Earlier it was anounced that 2000 Olympic track star Caty Freeman of Australia was supporting Beijing’s 2008 bid, joining other celebrities.
Bob Richardson, TO-Bid’s chief operating officer, said the Canadian group has steadfastly refused to play the celeb game — recruit stars and convincing them, perhaps with money, to support the bid.
He said, “if the other bids want to spend money on that, go ahead. We will (concentrate) on sports and athletes”.
He added, “look, we’ve got a great plan and that’s our showcase. Others may need to tart up their plans with endorsements. Go ahead. We don’t. We have a great plan for sports and athletes. We don’t need to get paid endorsements by other people to (endorse our bid). It speaks for itself”.
