Women Shine on Olympic Day 2011
For the second consecutive year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hosted the Women and Sport Awards ceremony on the occasion of Olympic Day. One world trophy and five continental trophies were presented at the 2011 IOC Women and Sport Awards to remarkable individuals as well as one organisation, all of whom have made an outstanding effort to enhance the participation, development and involvement of women and young girls in the sporting arena.
The official ceremony was held at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge; Anita DeFrantz, IOC member and Chairperson of the IOC Women and Sport Commission; the members of the IOC Women and Sport Commission; IOC Executive Board members; and guests invited to take part in the Olympic Day festivities. The 2011 Women and Sport Award trophies were presented as follows: - IOC World Trophy: Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) - IOC Trophy for Africa: Nadouvi Lawson Body (Togo) - IOC Trophy for the Americas: The Women and Sport Commission of the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee - IOC Trophy for Asia: Narin Hajtass (Jordan) - IOC Trophy for Europe: Sema Kasapoglu (Turkey) - IOC Trophy for Oceania: Daphne Pirie (Australia).
The winners of the 2011 Women and Sport Awards have been recognised for their roles in getting more women involved in sport as athletes, administrators, leaders and as members of the media. Click here to learn more about their profiles and achievements.
National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International Federations (IFs) and Continental Associations were invited to submit candidatures, and the winners were selected of 46 candidatures by the IOC Women and Sport Commission.
President Rogge said: “The IOC Women and Sport Awards represent how far the Olympic Movement has come in the field of gender equality. The participation of women at the Games, for example, has almost doubled in the last 30 years from 23 per cent at the 1984 Los Angeles Games to nearly 43 per cent at the 2008 Beijing Games. We expect this positive trend to continue at London 2012.” Speaking at the ceremony, Anita DeFrantz said: "Through various projects and programmes, the IOC invests in the empowerment of women off the playing field. We acknowledge that, by working together, women and men, people of different age groups and people from different countries, we can accomplish more, and more quickly, then working alone. We encourage everyone in the sports world and beyond to work as a team when it comes to gender equality.”
About Olympic Day
Olympic Day was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. The goal was to promote participation in sport across the globe, regardless of age, gender or athletic ability. Over the last 20 years, Olympic Day has been associated with Olympic Day Runs all over the world. From 45 participating National Olympic Committees in the first edition in 1987, the majority of the 205 NOCs are nowadays organising various activities on that occasion. What’s more, many of the participating NOCs are in Africa – proving the event’s worldwide appeal.
Over the past few years, Olympic Day has developed into much more than just a run or a sports event. Some countries have incorporated Olympic Day activities into the school curriculum. Others have added concerts and exhibitions to the sports activity. Athletes and Olympic champions are also active on Olympic Day to encourage people to take up sport, enjoy and excel. If you want to get active on Olympic Day, join us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook and tell us what you do!
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For further information on the 2011 Women and Sport Trophies and the activities of the IOC Women and Sport Commission, please contact the IOC Communications Department, Tel: +41 21 621 60 00, e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our website at www.olympic.org
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Innsbruck 2012
1st edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, Innsbruck, Austria,13 to 22 January 2012. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.