POSTED: Monday January 5th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LEGENDARY SKIER JANICA KOSTELIC NAMED NEW LAUREUS GLOBAL AMBASSADOR

‘I hope to be able to help young Croatians’ – pledges Janica Kostelic

•    Croatia’s golden girl becomes member of Laureus Friends & Ambassadors
•    ‘We welcome Janica into the Laureus family’ – says ski legend Alberto Tomba

ZAGREB, January 3, 2009 – One of the greatest female skiers of all time, Croatia’s Janica Kostelic, has been named as the newest member of the Laureus Friends & Ambassadors programme.

The announcement was made in Zagreb by Laureus Director of Global Communications, Mal Thompson, on the eve of the Snow Queen World Cup slalom race. Also present were Laureus Academy members and skiing legends Franz Klammer and Alberta Tomba, Croatian Minister for Sport Dragan Primorac and event organiser Vedran Pavlek.

Janica Costelic is the first woman in skiing history to win four career Alpine Olympic gold medals, and the first to have won three Alpine gold medals in one Olympiad, at Salt Lake City in 2002. In her glittering career, she won a total of six Olympic medals, which made her the most successful woman in Olympic Alpine skiing history. She was also World Cup champion in 2001, 2003 and 2006.

An inspirational sportswoman, Janica has proved a courageous fighter, coming back from debilitating injuries. To compete in Salt Lake City she recovered from three knee operations in 12 months to win gold medals in the giant slalom, slalom and combined events, and silver in the super-G. In her career she was nominated on five occasions for Laureus Awards, and in 2006 she was named Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year.

Thompson, speaking on behalf of Laureus Academy Chairman Edwin Moses at the announcement, said: “This is a very special day for Laureus and I am delighted to be able to welcome Janica as one of our Laureus global ambassadors. She was a very passionate competitor and a legend in skiing and we are very lucky - as Laureus celebrates its tenth year – that she now wants to devote that energy and commitment to Laureus. I know that she will be an energetic worker for the causes that the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation supports.”

Janica Kostelic said: “I would like to thank the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy for this honour. To win a Laureus Award from the members of the Academy was one of the greatest sporting honours in my life, and now to be able to join them in their work is overwhelming. I hope to be able to work with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in my native country of Croatia to set up projects here and use sport as the means to help underprivileged young Croatians.”

Three-time Olympic champion and Laureus Academy member Alberta Tomba said “We welcome Janica into the Laureus family and the profile she can bring to using sport to affect young people’s lives in Croatia. We have been fortunate throughout our careers, but we all recognise that it is important to give something back to the young people to inspire them to make changes in their lives.”

And fellow Laureus Academy member and Austrian skiing legend Franz Klammer said: “I know how difficult it is to be best in the world at one skiing discipline, but Janica has been able to master them all. Her record fourth Olympic gold medal gives her a real claim to be the greatest women’s skier of all time. In addition to being a brilliant skier, Janica had other outstanding qualities, particularly fighting spirit and versatility. You expect knocks and injuries in skiing, but to come back from three knee operations in a year and then go and win three gold medals as she did in Salt Lake City was just one of the most unbelievable achievements in sport.”

Laureus is a universal movement that celebrates the power of sport to bring people together as a force for good. Laureus is composed of three core elements - the Laureus World Sports Academy, incorporating the Friends & Ambassadors programme, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Laureus World Sports Awards - which collectively celebrate sporting excellence and harness the power of sport to promote social change.

The Patron of Laureus is Nelson Mandela. At the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000, President Mandela said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.” This has become the philosophy of Laureus; the driving force behind its work.

The mission of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation is to utilise the power of sport to address social challenges through a global programme of sports related community development initiatives, using sport as a tool for social change. The Foundation supports more than 60 projects worldwide and since its inception Laureus has raised €15 million for projects which have helped to improve the lives of over 750,000 young people.

The work of the Foundation is supported by the Laureus World Sports Academy, a unique association of 46 of the greatest living sporting legends, and by a growing number of Laureus Friends & Ambassadors. The Friends and Ambassadors programme is an initiative aimed at encouraging the involvement of sport stars and friends at a countrywide level. The personalities have volunteered their time to act as global ambassadors by using their influence to highlight the plight of disadvantaged children.

For further information please contact:
Mal Thompson
Laureus Global Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 2749
Fax: +44 (0)20 7514 2782
Email: publicrelations@laureus.com
Photo Archive: http://www.laureusarchive.com
Website: http://www.laureus.com

For photos of Laureus events please visit http://www.laureusarchive.com
NB: Information correct at time of going to press

NOTES TO EDITORS

The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy are: Giacomo Agostini, Marcus Allen, Severiano Ballesteros, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Ian Botham, Sergey Bubka, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Yaping Deng, Marcel Desailly, Kapil Dev, David Douillet, Emerson Fittipaldi, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Cathy Freeman, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mika Häkkinen, Tony Hawk, Mike Horn, Miguel Indurain, Michael Johnson, Kip Keino, Franz Klammer, Dan Marino, John McEnroe, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Nawal El Moutawakel, Robby Naish, Ilie Nastase, Martina Navratilova, Alexei Nemov, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Vivian Richards, Monica Seles, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson, Alberto Tomba, Steve Waugh and Katarina Witt.

The Laureus Academy members volunteer their services as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which was set up to promote the use of sport as a tool for social change. The Foundation addresses social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports related community development initiatives. Since its inception Laureus has raised €15 million for projects which have helped improve the lives of over 750,000 young people. The Foundation addresses issues in particular involving, but not limited to, young people impacted by social exclusion, gun and gang violence, discrimination, community integration, peace and reconciliation, and education.

The Laureus World Sports Awards is the premier global sports awards honouring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year. The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury - the 46 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today. The Awards are presented at an annual Awards Ceremony, attended by global figures from sport and entertainment, which is broadcast to 180 countries.

Laureus was founded by its Patrons Daimler and Richemont and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and Vodafone.

Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz, the world’s oldest automaker, can look back on a unique tradition. The premium brand stands for modern, innovative automobiles, for quality, safety, comfort and design. Mercedes-Benz enjoys an excellent reputation, particularly in the area of safety technology. Many pioneering technical innovations that are standard automotive features today were first seen in a Mercedes-Benz car. The car with the star also has an excellent reputation with regard to quality, value for money and customer satisfaction. Mercedes-Benz is a Global Partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since the beginning of the Foundations’ operations in 2000, Mercedes-Benz has shared and supported the goals and values of this worldwide charity programme where sports play the core role in the fight against social issues - Laureus has become a vital element of the corporate social responsibility programme of Mercedes-Benz.

IWC Schaffhausen
For more than a century, IWC Schaffhausen has been producing precision products of complex functionality and outstanding user-friendliness for watch connoisseurs who expect more from their watch than just having an accurate timekeeper. Since its foundation in 1868, the International Watch Company has built up a reputation as a long-established Swiss watchmaking firm with a passion for inventions, innovative solutions and technical refinements. Today the brand is more successful than at any time in its history. IWC uses this strength in a programme of corporate social responsibility initiatives at home and abroad. In 2005, IWC entered into a long-term commitment to become a Global Partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Vodafone
Vodafone, the world\‘s leading international mobile communications group, with over 250 million proportionate customers and equity interests in 25 countries across five continents and a further 40 partner networks worldwide, is supporting Laureus as a new Global Partner, with a five year agreement which began in 2008 and concludes in 2012. Vodafone is a long-standing supporter of sport sponsorship and is pleased to be part of an organisation that celebrates sporting excellence both at a grass roots level through the humanitarian work worldwide of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and at elite level through the annual Laureus World Sports Awards, which honours the achievements of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen.

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Keywords · Janica Kostelic · Laureus · Mercedes-Benz · IWC Schaffhausen · Vodafone

Name: Mal Thompson
Organization: Laureus Foundation
Email:
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7514 2749
URL: http://www.laureus.com/

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