Alpine Skier Martin Braxenthaler Wins Laureus Award 2007 Bonn, Germany - German Alpine Skier Martin Braxenthaler was named Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability at the eighth Laureus World Sports Awards. The award was presented by Argentinean top model Valeria Mazza and Laureus World Sports Academy member Franz Klammer at a ceremony held at the Palau St Jordi in Barcelona, Spain.
Mr. Braxenthaler was an outstanding performer in Alpine Skiing at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games with winning three gold medals (Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G). As well in 2006, he was the winner of the overall World Cup, the World Cup Slalom and was German champion in Slalom and Giant Slalom. Amongst other honors, he was awarded the Eurosport Sport Star Award in the category Best Male Athlete with a Disability in 2006.
After winning the award, Mr. Braxenthaler stated: "I am really honored to receive this award today and I would like to thank everyone who has helped me to achieve this." With his great experience Mr. Braxenthaler has become a role model for younger athletes. His knowledge and skills are the basis for other athletes getting better and better.
Other nominees in the category for Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability were Edith Hunkeler (Athletics, Switzerland), Esther Vergeer (Wheelchair Tennis, Netherlands) Javier Ochoa (Cycling, Spain), Kazem Rajabi Golojeh (Powerlifting, Iran) and Kurt Fearnley (Athletics, Australia).
The prestigious Laureus World Sports honor the world's best sportsmen and women and celebrate sporting excellence across all disciplines and continents each year. The winners are selected by a jury, including members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. The Awards are bestowed in a range of categories, including world Sportsman and World Sportswoman of the Year, World Team of the Year, World Breakthrough of the Year, World Comeback of the Year, World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability and World Action Sportsperson of the Year.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for 12 sports, for which it supervises and co-coordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.
Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by 162 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.
For further information, please contact Steffi Klein, IPC Communication Manager, on tel: +49-228-2097-230, e-mail: steffi.klein@paralympic.org or go to: http://www.paralympic.org.