At BHP Billiton, our association with the Beijing 2008 Games will add another chapter to our proud Olympic history. Previously BHP Billiton provided the raw materials to produce the silver medals for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
More than one tonne of silver, sourced from BHP’s Cannington operation in Queensland, Australia, was used to produce the medals.
Today as we celebrate our involvement in the Games, including our role in producing the medals for the event, we have discovered the proud story of two BHP Billiton employees who have represented their country at past Olympic Games. Geoffrey Ferreira a human resources manager from our Houston office was the first person to have ever represented Trinidad & Tobago in swimming at an Olympic Games.
He competed in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Today his competitive drive is as active as ever, ranking among the world’s top ten masters swimmers for the 50-54 age group.
Nils Linneberg, a marketing manager based in our Singapore office, represented Chile in the men’s downhill event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
As we count down to Beijing, we will closely follow the progress of Vince Rooi, a security officer at our martketing office in The Hague who will represent The Netherlands in baseball at the Games.
Meanwhile, a number of our staff have children who have qualified for Beijing, including Alfred Ellison from our Pinto Valley Base Metals operation in the USA whose son Brady will represent the in archery. At our Worsley Alumina business in Western Australia, Greg Worthington a liquid burner supervisor is the father of Mark, a member of the Australian men’s basketball squad. In Cannington, Australia, the home of the silver for the medals, is Frank Moffatti whose son Ricardo will represent Australia in swimming at the Paralympic Games.
Geoffrey Ferreria, a Human Resources Manager from our
Petroleum business in Houston USA, was the first man to
represent Trinidad and Tobago in swimming at an Olympic Games.