24 June 2011 – Lausanne, Switzerland - Marathon legend Tegla Loroupe was awarded the IOC World Trophy by the International Olympic Committee at the Women and Sport Awards ceremony in Lausanne on Thursday (23).

Loroupe, the former World record holder in the Marathon, received the honour for her efforts to enhance the participation, development and involvement of women and young girls in the sporting arena.

The Women and Sport Awards ceremony was hosted for the second consecutive year on the occasion of Olympic Day, this year celebrating its 63rd anniversary.

“She may come from a humble background, but today Kenyan Tegla Loroupe is an international sports icon,” an IOC profile reads. “An inspirational role model for women not only in her country, but also the world, it is an achievement she managed through humility, patience, hard work and team spirit.”

"Loroupe is the founder and President of the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, which, working towards the vision of a “peaceful, prosperous and just world in which sport is a unifying factor”, educates, empowers and gives women and communities in conflict opportunities in life. She is vociferous about the issues these women face and is a strong advocate for change.”

“Through her foundation, which is largely financed by Loroupe herself, she has organized numerous peace races for warring communities to be involved in with the aim of building trust and breaking down the stereotypes they may have about each other. Increasing numbers of women and girls are taking part. The cash prizes they win empower them economically, allowing them to become equal partners with the men in catering and fending for their families. The Foundation has also created opportunities for women and girls to be trained and coached for both local and international sport.”

“There was no doubt in the minds of the judging panel that these myriad achievements, in combination with Ms. Loroupe’s ongoing work in the fields of female empowerment and education, make her a worthy winner of the 2011 World Trophy and an outstanding example of how sport can make a real difference to people’s lives.” . [For more from the IOC profile, click here.]

In addition to Loroupe’s world trophy, five continental trophies to individuals as well as one organization were awarded: IOC Trophy for Africa: Nadouvi Lawson Body (Togo); Trophy for the Americas: The Women and Sport Commission of the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee; Trophy for Asia: Narin Hajtass (Jordan); Trophy for Europe: Sema Kasapoglu (Turkey); and Trophy for Oceania: Daphne Pirie (Australia).

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.

President Rogge said: “The IOC Women and Sport Awards represent how far the Olympic Movement has come in the field of gender equality,” Rogge said. “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, 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.”

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.

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.

IOC for the IAAF