Baku, May 8, AZERTAC

Baku 2015 has today announced that Italian shooter and Olympic champion Niccolò Campriani will be an Athlete Ambassador for this summer’s inaugural European Games.

Mr Campriani won a gold and silver medal in rifle events at London 2012, setting two Olympic records in the first event, and equalling the Olympic record in the second. He was named the 2012 ISSF Shooter of the Year, and went on to complete a Master of Science in Sports Engineering in 2013.

Mr Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, said: “With only 36 days to go until Baku 2015, it is extremely exciting to bring Niccolò on board as an Athlete Ambassador. Niccolò is the reigning Olympic champion in his discipline, and we are delighted to add another world-leading athlete to our line-up of inspirational International Ambassadors.”

Baku 2015 Athlete Ambassadors will represent their sports and feature in marketing campaigns around the continent and on social media to promote the European Games.

Mr Campriani said: “I am very excited to be an Athlete Ambassador for the inaugural European Games, and honoured to have been chosen alongside leading athletes from across the continent. I am really looking forward to the opportunity to help raise the profile of the first European Games around the world.”

Mr Giovanni Malagò, President of the Italian Olympic Committee, said: “Niccolò is a wonderful addition to the Baku 2015 Ambassador programme. I have no doubt that he will do a fantastic job promoting the European Games, as well as building the excitement and support for all our athletes in the lead-up to Baku 2015.”

Mr Campriani joins German table tennis player Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Greek fencer Vassiliki Vougiouka, Irish boxer Katie Taylor, Team GB’s taekwondo athlete Jade Jones, French rhythmic gymnast Kseniya Moustafaeva, Denmark’s canoe sprinter René Holten Poulsen, Serbia’s 3x3 basketball team of Dušan Domović Bulut, Marko Savic, Marko Zdero and Dejan Majstorovic, and Polish mountain biker Maja Włoszczowska as Baku 2015 international Athlete Ambassadors, with more to be announced in the near future.

The Baku 2015 Shooting competition will start on Tuesday 16 June at the brand-new, purpose-built Baku Shooting Centre. It will feature 330 athletes across the men’s, women’s and mixed team competitions, with 19 gold medals available.