Monaco's Prince Albert visits DeKalb Olympic training center
By
Posted 6:57AM on Saturday, September 21, 2002
ATLANTA - Monaco's Prince Albert, the most prominent supporter of DeKalb County's new trainng center for Olympic athletes, visited DeKalb on Friday to tour the facilities and meet with potential financial supporters. <br>
<br>
Prince Albert had been scheduled to arrive in May for the center's grand opening, but did not attend, raising doubts about the future of the nonprofit program. His visit was a significant boost for the fledgling effort, called the DeKalb International Traning Center. <br>
<br>
The center has agreed to welcome 57 athletes from 10 nations for the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games. The athletes will train at Emory University and Georgia Tech. <br>
<br>
Organizers estimate the program will cost $1.2 million a year. They won't say how much has been raised so far, but say they expect to meet fund-raising goals. <br>
<br>
``It's one thing to see it on paper, but to actually see it up and active, with everybody that's helped and the corporate sponsors, it's very satisfying,'' said the prince, the center's honorary chairman and former Olympic bobsledder.