Tianjin/Seoul (pps) Josef Fendt, President of the International Luge Federation, returned from a tip to Asia, which lasted several days. First on the agenda was the opening ceremony of the “Juan Antonio Samaranch Museum” in Tianjin (China), situated approximately 160 km southeast of the capital Beijing. Objects and memorabilia of the former IOC President (1980 – 2001) Samaranch, who passed away in 2010, are on display in an exhibition space of about 2,000 sqm. Other high-profile guests at the opening ceremony included Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and IOC Vice President Thomas Bach. Fendt then travelled on to South Korea. After a visit to the future Olympic venues in Pyeongchang, he took part in several meetings together with Jae-Ho Chung, FIL Vice-President for Asia and President of the Korean Luge Federation. In all meetings, the development of the South Korean luge team took center stage, with the goal of a possible participation in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. The hosts also showed interest in natural luge. Korean representatives in the meetings with Fendt included the President of the National Olympic Committee, Jung-haeng Kim, and Ji-young Kim, Chairman of International Relations, as well as the President of the Organizing Committee of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang (POCOC), Jinsun Kim, and his Secretary General Donhoo Moon.