By Stephen WrightBermuda Winter Olympian Patrick Singleton, now on the executive of the World Olympic Association, recently travelled to Japan as part of a two-day Tohoku Sports Summit.Singleton, who represented Bermuda in the luge and skeleton events, visited Sendai and Ishinomaki in the northeastern part of the country that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011.Several Olympic legends, including nine-time gold medal winner Carl Lewis, long jump world record holder Mike Powell and former triple jump world record holder Willie Banks, took part in the campaign to support and inspire young Japanese athletes.Singleton, who was the WOA’s chairman of events at the London Olympics, said: “I had approached a Japanese company (during the London Olympics) about doing a sports conference and activities with Olympians in the Sendai and Ishinomaki region that was badly damaged two years ago.“At the London Olympics we had a bunch of children from the disaster-hit region come across to meet and train with famous Olympians.“They really enjoyed that and we said we would like to come back and interact with them. It just so happens they took my idea and ran with it and, on their own, developed a conference (in Tohoku) and invited some famous Olympians.”Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, is bidding against Madrid and Istanbul for the right to host the 2020 Games. Tokyo also bid for the 2016 Olympics, which were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.The WOA is the member organisation of all Olympians established to help support Olympians around the world and promote Olympism in the community.