If your a sports fan and you regularly tune into Olympics, your in for a real treat this year. With the Summer Olympics just months away in London, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a new Olympic Athletes Hub. The Hub is place where fans can go to interact with Olympic athletes, share photos, view video, and take part in live chats.

The idea is taking advantage of social media to get fans more engaged in the games and the personalities behind the competition. As with many other sports and events, social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and the growing list of others, give fans a chance to experience and share in the competitions like never before.

Head of social media for the International Olympic Committee, Alex Huot comments on the addition of the Athletes Hub:

“The Olympic Athletes’ Hub was born out of our desire to connect Olympic athletes and their fans more intimately than ever before,”

“With the launch of the Hub, we are creating a paradigm shift in the communication around the Olympic Games.”

“Clearly we are past the point where people are drawn to the Olympics because of patriotism alone,”

“The ability of athletes to connect with fans and vice versa is critical. Now more than ever you have fans connecting to athletes that aren’t their country’s stars. Like everything else the web does, borders become less important and the Olympics are not immune.”

“Some of the features you can look forward to include live streams of updates of all the athletes, live chats from the Athletes’ Village – these will include athlete Q&As and photos sharing – more and more training tips from Olympic legends. There will be some fun surprises, too.”

To learn a little more about the Olympic Athletes Hub follow the link above. In the meantime check out this promotional video for the Hub: