Top: Mayor of Miami Manny Diaz and Olympic Gold Medalist Tiffany Cohen celebrate Olympic Day 2009
with more than 100 Miami children at Shenandoah Park. Bottom: Olympic medalists Gary Hall and Gary Hall, Jr., Tiffany Cohen, and Mayor of Miami Manny Diaz pass the Olympic baton on Olympic Day 2009.
Photos: Jorge R. Perez/City of Miami.

(Miami, Florida) – Miami Mayor Manny Diaz led a citywide celebration of Olympic Day with local Olympians, Tiffany Cohen, Gary Hall and Gary Hall, Jr. with more than 100 Miami children at Shenandoah Park today.  

“Miami is pleased to join the many other cities around the country that are celebrating Olympic Day and supporting Chicago 2016,” said Mayor Diaz. “This is a great opportunity for our residents to take their inspiration from amateur and professional athletes to get involved in sports and lead a healthy lifestyle.”

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) leads the national Olympic Day celebrations annually with events at the Olympic Training Centers and official training sites, as well as affiliated sport National Governing Bodies and multi-sport organizations. This year, through a partnership with Chicago 2016, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Olympic Day celebrations have expanded to cities across the country. 

In the City of Miami, kids in the Shenandoah Park Summer program met with the athletes and learned about their own stories of Olympic glory and personal success. With 15 medals between them, the Olympians talked about the Olympic ideals that shaped them: fairplay, perseverance, respect, and sportsmanship. The kids were able to see and touch Olympic Gold, ask questions and collect autographs from the Olympians, who also autographed an official “Chicago 2016” flag for the City of Miami.

Other City of Miami Parks will show their support for Chicago 2016 by promoting these ideals in summer programs and hosting weekly mini-Summer Olympic Games. Parks-based summer programs will recognize today’s International Olympic Day festivities as the official launch of their Miami Summer Olympics program, which encourages physical activity and promote the Olympic values among the city’s youth. 

Mayor Diaz joins mayors across the country with a collective pledge of support for Chicago 2016, the organization seeking the privilege to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The event sends a clear message to the International Olympic Committee that Miami and the United States of America support Chicago’s bid for the Games. The 2016 Host City will be named on October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Chicago is competing for this honor alongside Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Tokyo (Japan), and Madrid (Spain).

To learn more about the Chicago 2016 bid, please visit www.chicago2016.org.  

To learn more about the City of Miami Parks & Recreation Summer Programs, please visit www.miamigov.com/parks.