Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. current vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and son of the former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, has become an honorary advisor to the Dongfeng Nissan 2017 Chengdu International Marathon.

The Samaranch family has always paid close attention to the Chinese sports industry ever since 1986 when Samranch Snr the then president of the IOC donated US$10,000 to the first edition of this international race.

Samaranch Jr. said he was impressed by the development of mass participation events in China and believed that China will prove itself as a sports powerhouse through the hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics as well as the upcoming Winter Olympics in 2022.

The organizing committee of the Chengdu Marathon have also appointed the Sichuan female Mandopop singer Sitar Tan as the official ambassador of the 2017 Chengdu Marathon.

In addition to this the race is looking to recruit 500 volunteers for its charity project, which is aimed at raising public awareness to protect the panda population in Sichuan province and helping teenagers in western China to realize their sports dreams. 

Source: ifeng

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick