Bahrain Olympic Academy receives Athens honorary distinction

Athens, June 10 (BNA): The International Olympic Academy (IOA) presented the Bahrain Olympic Academy with the Athena honorary distinction.

The award was presented to His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Chairman of the General Sports Authority, and President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, by Isidoros Kouvelos, President of IOA, at the academy’s award ceremony in Athens, Greece.

Her Excellency President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of the Hellenic Republic, attended the ceremony. ‎

His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Vice President of the General Sports Authority; Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) Vice-President; and Faris Mustafa Al Kooheji, BOC Secretary-General, were present. ‎

The honorary medal that was presented to the Bahrain Olympic Academy came in recognition of its role in supporting the advancement of sports and its efforts and contributions to qualifying administrative and technical personnel in Bahrain and the region.

The Academy is an extension of the Bahrain Sports Institute, which was established at the initiative of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, when His Majesty was the Crown Prince and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports in 1981. The institute was transformed into a training and development centre in 1990, later becoming the Bahrain Olympic Academy in 2017. ‎

The honorary award is a demonstration of the the status reached by the academy under the leadership of HH Shaikh Khalid. It has implemented high-level training programmes to develop sports personnel, such as the National Trainers Programme in its four levels, the Advanced Sports Management Course, the Advanced Elite Coaches Course, and many other courses, seminars and workshops. ‎

Within the framework of cooperation between the Bahrain Olympic Academy and the IOA and under the directives of HH Shaikh Khalid, the diploma programme in advanced Olympic studies was conducted. It is the first educational programme targeting athletes in Bahrain. The programme, which covers various facets of Olympic sports, represents an important step in Bahrain’s commitment to promoting academic excellence and Olympic values.