Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray, while embarking on another campaign to try and win the coveted Wimbledon title, has given his support to the Glasgow 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) bid.
Murray comfortably saw off the challenge of Germany’s Benjamin Becker in Monday’s first round encounter before repeating the trick against Yen-Hsun Lu on Wednesday.
Lu beat Murray in 2008 at the Beijing Games before the Scot bounced back in 2012 to win singles gold and mixed doubles silver in London, and Murray wants Glasgow to keep the Olympic feeling alive in 2018.
He was last week announced as a Glasgow 2018 Bid Champion and thinks the Scottish city would help young people from across the world realise their dreams and ambitions by giving them hope that anything is possible.
The current British men’s No 1 and World No 2 said he believes Glasgow’s ability to put young people at the very heart of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) can empower millions across the globe.
Murray said: “One of the best things about London 2012 was the way kids got into it and were inspired by some of the amazing performances we saw. We must keep that inspiration alive and empower all our kids to believe they can be champions in their lives just the way we were last summer.
“An amazing way to continue that would be to bring the Youth Olympic Games to Glasgow in 2018.
“The Youth Olympic Games are all about encouraging kids to be champions and to work hard to achieve their goals. Kids need to believe that all of this is possible, I certainly did.
“Things are pretty hard for young people right now and it is vital their interests are at the heart of everything people who have influence do. What better way to do this than to back Glasgow’s bid to bring the inspirational Olympic values back to the UK.
“I think Scotland would embrace a Youth Olympics in a special way to help kids achieve their true potential whatever their dreams are. Even nearly a year on I think we all miss the Olympics; it was a special event and a special time for me here at Wimbledon that I will never forget.”
Murray has joined fellow London 2012 medallists Sir Chris Hoy, Katherine Grainger, Jade Jones and Michael Jamieson, as well as world boxing champion Ricky Burns, in backing the bid before the IOC vote to elect the 2018 YOG Host City on July 4 in Lausanne, Switzerland.