POSTED: Sunday November 22nd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Paralympic Awards Winners Honoured in Kuala Lumpur

Paralympic Awards Gala, proudly partnered by IPC's Gold Patron Allianz

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - On the occasion of the IPC General Assembly,
the Paralympic Awards Gala, proudly partnered by IPC’s Gold Patron
Allianz, was held today at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.



The winners of the Awards were selected by three Awards Committees,
composed of members of the Paralympic Movement and specialists in the
relevant areas.

All award recipients were presented with a handmade trophy, designed and crafted by Italian design company G.D.E. Bertoni.



Said Sir Philip Craven, IPC President: “The Paralympic Awards honour
top athletes, officials, international media and contributors from the
scientific and academic world and recognize their achievements and
contributions based on the last Paralympic Games in Beijing 2008. We
thank Allianz for their true partnership, great support and commitment
to the Paralympic cause.”



The Paralympic Sport Awards 2009 were awarded in five categories, based on performance at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games:



Best Male Athlete: Matthew Cowdrey (AUS), Swimming

Best Female Athlete: Chantal Petitclerc (CAN), Athletics

Best Team Performance: Australian Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team

Best Games Debut: Sophie Pascoe (NZL), Swimming

Exemplary Games Official: WANG Xinxian (CHN), Chef de Mission



The Paralympic Media Awards 2009 honour members of the media who
presented the highest quality and most dynamic coverage of the Beijing
2008 Paralympic Games, in four categories:



Broadcast: ABC TV (AUS)

Written (Print/Online): The Sunday Telegraph (GBR)

Radio: BBC Radio (GBR)

Photo: Damir Sencar (CRO)



The Paralympic Scientific Award 2009 recognized one outstanding
contributor (academic or scientific) for research in the field of sport
for persons with a disability.



Paralympic Scientific Award 2009: Gudrun Doll-Tepper (GER)



Alexander Ankel, CEO of Allianz Malaysia Berhad, said: “It is a great
honour for us to present these awards. Allianz aims to promote the
Paralympic idea globally. At the same time, the co-operation with
Paralympic athletes is a great, motivational experience for us. Both
partners, Allianz and the Paralympic Movement, benefit from this
partnership.”



Furthermore, a Paralympic Order was presented to Mr. Bob Fisher (Great
Britain). The Paralympic Order is the highest recognition presented by
the IPC and is awarded to a person, who has made an outstanding or
long-lasting contribution to the Paralympic Movement and/or to the
overall success of the Paralympic Games.



For more information about the Paralympic Awards and a brief profile of each Award winner, please visit the IPC website at www.paralympic.org.



__________



Notes to the Editor:



About IPC

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
nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates 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 more than 160 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.



About Allianz

Allianz SE is one of the world’s leading insurers and financial
services providers. Founded in 1890, Allianz SE is now present in more
than 70 countries with over 150,000 employees. Allianz provides its
about 75 million customers worldwide with a comprehensive range of
services in the areas of property and casualty insurance, life and
health insurance, and asset management. Allianz SE is member of
Transparency International Germany and supports the Principles of the
United Nations Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for
Multinationals through its Code of Conduct. Allianz SE is one of the
leaders of the insurance sector in the Dow Jones. Sustainability Index,
listed in FTSE4GOOD and in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index
(Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP6).



The competitiveness and the performance of Paralympic athletes is
exceptional – a motivation that drives us to deliver outstanding
services to our about 75 Million customers world-wide every day. For
the future, this partnership allows Allianz and IPC to initiate jointly
developed projects, to allow for a better understanding of social and
customer needs. Taking the athlete’s exceptional achievements and the
outstanding performance as a role model for all our Allianz’ people,
this partnership also sets a standard for employee engagement,
motivation and performance. For more information, please visit www.allianz.com.

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Keywords · IPC · Paralympics

Name: Steffi Klein
Organization: International Paralympic Committee
Email:
Phone: +49-228-2097-200
URL: http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/index.html

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