Greg Norman set to join organizing board for 2032 Olympics in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Greg Norman is set to link up with organizers of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.

Norman, a two-time British Open champion and the only player to lose all four majors in a playoff following 72 holes, has recently been replaced as CEO of LIV Golf by Scott O’Neil ahead of tour’s fourth season starting next month.

News Corp. reported Thursday that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had picked Norman to replace a retiring politician on the 24-person organizing board for the 2032 Olympics.

The Games will be held in Norman’s home state of Queensland, Australia.

“As a proud Queenslander, it is an honor and privilege to help shape the Brisbane Games,” Norman told Brisbane’s Courier-Mail newspaper.

As a youth, Norman worked at Royal Queensland, the riverside course that will host the Olympic golf tournament in 2032.

Sports Minister Anika Wells said Norman “is synonymous with Australian sporting success on the world stage and I look forward to drawing on his 40 years of global sporting experience and business acumen.”

“Norman learned to play golf in the northern suburbs of Brisbane and as a proud Queenslander understands our state’s sporting pride and is a passionate supporter of the Olympic and Paralympic movements," Wells told the newspaper.

The IOC awarded the 2032 Games to Australia’s third-largest city in 2021 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, giving a long lead time to prepare under the so-called new normal guidelines.

Andrew Liveris, president of the 2032 organizing committee, has said he’s envisioned an Olympics more like Barcelona in 1992 than London, Tokyo, Paris or Los Angeles, given the scale of the cities involved.

Preparations so far have been overshadowed by uncertainty over the main Olympic venue after the previous Queensland state government, which is the main backer of the Games, pulled plans to demolish and rebuild the Gabba stadium.

A new state government led by Premier David Crisafulli, elected last October, is undertaking a review of proposed venues.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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The Associated Press