Smoke-free Sydney 2000 Olympics Win Gold!

"Tobacco use and sports just don't mix," says Australian Olympic star Cathy Freeman.

Prince Albert and the IOC join world health and government leaders in giving tobacco the boot!

Prince Albert of Monaco today joined the Premier of the New South Wales Government Bob Carr, Olympians and global health leaders to celebrate the most successful Smoke-free Olympic Games and promote smokefree and physically active lifestyles worldwide.

"We are excited about how successful the smoke-free policy has been accepted here in Sydney by everyone participating in the Games," said Prince Albert, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "This has been a great collaborative effort by the World Health Organization (WHO), the IOC, governments and local health groups in making the Olympic Games synonymous with a healthy and smokefree lifestyle," said Prince Albert.

The Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) approved a non-smoking policy to ensure that all indoor and outdoor venues were smoke-free. SOCOG supported an IOC initiative that has been in place since 1988 to make the games tobacco-free.

"We are proud that the Sydney Games have set a world mark for future tobacco-free Olympic Games," said New South Wales Premier Bob Carr. "We encourage all future sporting events to follow Sydney's lead in setting such a high standard."

Jenny Thompson, United States gold medalist swimmer noted, "It has been wonderful being able to live and compete in fresh air."

What Cathy Freeman, Jenny Thompson and the IOC share is an understanding of the threat that tobacco poses to the health and lives of millions of people around the world. The Race Against Big Tobacco is a Race of Life.

Cathy Freeman lifted the spirit of her native country, Australia, by winning the gold medal in the woman's 400 meter run. Cathy would not have been able to represent her people had she been a cigarette smoker.

The images below highight Cathy's smokefree dash for the gold in Sydney [image source: NBC TV].

More information on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) here
Learn about the World Health Organization's Tobacco-Free Initiative here