The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently awarded its 2007 World Women and Sport Trophy to the first female Jamaican Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, at an official ceremony held in Lausanne. Portia Simpson Miller was honoured for her outstanding dedication to promoting the participation of women in Jamaican sport – both as athletes and as administrators.
As well as the World Trophy, five continental trophies were presented to women who have made outstanding contributions to strengthen the participation of women and girls in the sports’ world. The winners are as follows:
• Trophy for Africa: Fridah Bilha Shiroya (Kenya)
• Trophy for the Americas: Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA)
• Trophy for Asia: Naila Shatara-Kharroub (Palestine)
• Trophy for Europe: Ilse Bechthold (Germany)
• Trophy for Oceania: Veitu Apana Diro (Papua New Guinea)
The ceremony took place at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge, Anita DeFrantz, IOC member and chairman of the IOC Women and Sport Commission and the members of the IOC Women and Sport Commission. The 2007 winners were selected by the IOC Women and Sport Commission from 65 candidatures submitted by the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations of Olympic sports.
Also present at the ceremony was HRH Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein, President of the Jordanian National Olympic Committee.
On this occasion, IOC President Jacques Rogge announced that the Fourth World Conference on Women and Sport will take place in March 2008 in Jordan.
Portia Simpson Miller
The winner of the world trophy in 2007 is the first female Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson Miller, elected in March 2006. Her exceptional political career started in 1970. In 1989, she was appointed Minister for Sport, and in this function was also responsible for women’s affairs.
Shortly after her election as Prime Minister, she became one of the first world leaders to sign the World Anti-Doping Code. Throughout these years, her personal leadership, based on a “bottom-up” philosophy, has clearly supported the development of women’s sporting activities in Jamaica.
As a result, more and more women are being elected to the decision-making bodies of the national sport federations.
Fridah Bilha Shiroya
Fridah Bilha Shiroya, treasurer of the NOC of Kenya, is the winner of the trophy for Africa.
One of her outstanding merits is the strengthening of women’s role in Kenyan sport: as the first female to hold an executive office in the Kenyan NOC, she founded the Association of Kenya Women in Sports (TAKWIS) in 1996.
This initiative became a driving force to increase women’s participation in Kenyan sports as well as female representation in the national administrative sports structures.
Furthermore, Fridah Bilha Shiroya has proved her innovative spirit by founding the Kenya Women’s Football Association and bringing the sports of softball and baseball to her country.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
One of the world’s greatest Olympians, Jackie Joyner-Kersee won this year’s trophy for Americas.
With the creation of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Foundation in 1988, the six-time Olympic medallist has helped young people to prepare for their role in society – driven by guiding principles such as character and leadership, teamwork and dignity.
The foundation raised $12 million to build the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Centre in her hometown East St Louis, Illinois, which offers more than 30 programmes in education, culture, arts, sports and fitness, health and life skills for young people aged six to 18 years, with a major focus on young girls.
About her tireless work with the foundation, Joyner-Kersee says: “Once I leave this earth, I know I have done something that will continue to help others.”
Naila Shatara-Kharroub
The Women and Sport Commission’s choice for the trophy for Asia was Palestinian Naila Shatara-Kharroub, a pioneer in establishing and developing physical education for girls in her country since 1979.
Shatara-Kharroub has served the Ministry of Education for several years, and is today the Principal of the Dar Al-Kailma School in Bethlehem. Despite the political, social, economic and security-related challenges, and having started from zero, Naila Shatara-Kharroub has managed to introduce physical education in the 50 girls’ schools of Bethlehem and Jericho Districts, establish playgrounds, organise sports equipment and conduct various training courses for female physical education teachers.
Ilse Bechthold
Ilse Bechthold, chairman of the IAAF’s Women’s Committee since 1981 and member of the IOC Women and Sport Commission, is the 2007 winner of the trophy for Europe.
She has dedicated her competence and will to opening the door for women to nearly every discipline that is practised in athletics. In 1998, she initiated the Year of Women in Athletics within the IAAF, as well as several worldwide clinics and courses. Having been successful in the discus, shot put and pentathlon herself, her passion for sport has also influenced her professional life.
She has taught physical education to thousands of future teachers at the University of Frankfurt and served as a spokesperson for female students.
Veitu Apana Diro
Veitu Apana Diro, vice-president of the NOC of Papua New Guinea, is the winner for Oceania. She is one of the longest-serving women in sport in her country. As a founder of the national netball federation in 1965, she has always encouraged women and girls to discover this sport.
In 2000, she became chairman of the then-newly-founded Papua New Guinean Women in Sport (WIS) Committee. Her efforts towards increasing female participation in sport were and are addressed to all generations: she has coached numerous young girls in various sports, but has also established a masters’ association for older women.
Her recent initiative is a mentoring programme in which elite female athletes go to schools to motivate young girls to practise sport.
Association News: National duathlon championships
Ask most Maltese sports aficionados what triathlon consists of and the majority of them would find it difficult to come up with the three disciplines that make up the sport – swimming, cycling and running.
Ask them then what a duathlon is and you would really be stretching your luck too far. Finally, ask a triathlete what a duathlete is and the cruel answer would be: “A triathlete who cannot swim.”
In reality, duathlon combines the two disciplines of running and cycling, with the format of most races being run, cycle, run.
It is a pity that duathlon is considered as the poor relation of triathlon, with the latter earning inclusion into the Olympic fold in 2000 and hogging the limelight ever since. It is a pity because duathlon is an exciting and popular sport in its own right, and has a very dedicated and passionate following around the world, with national, regional and world championships held every year.
During the 2006 season, for example, there were no less than seven World Cup Duathlon races worldwide, with Catriona Morrison of Great Britain being declared World Champion at the Corner Brook Race in the USA, while Joeri Van Steelant of Belgium won the men’s event.
There are two basic distances: the International Distance (run 10km, cycle 40km, run 5km) and the Long Distance (run 10km, cycle 60km, run 10km). This year, the Duathlon World Championships will be held in Gyor, Hungary, in May while the Long Distance Duathlon World Champs will take place in Virginia, USA, in October.
Both duathlon and triathlon, as well as other multi-sport events like aquathlon (run, swim, run) and winter triathlon (cross-country skiing, mountain biking and running) are governed by the parent body, the International Triathlon Union (ITU).
In Malta, the Malta Triathlon Association, (MTA) similarly governs such multi-sport events and annually organises national duathlon and triathlon championships, with plans to hold a national aquathlon championship in the offing.
Past duathlon champions have tended to be also past triathlon champions: so we have names like Maria Mifsud Bonnici, Danica Spiteri, David Galea, Dermot Galea, etc, who have dominated both scenes. Yet the two disciplines are separate: a duathlete does not need the upper body strength which will power the triathlete through the water, and a triathlete does not need the concentration in the lower body muscles that a duathlete requires. Internationally, few have been the athletes who have made it to the podium in both sporting disciplines; locally, where the opposition is so limited, an athlete can make up for deficiencies s/he may have and still claim both championships.
This season’s National Duathlon Championships are planned for next Sunday at 8am. This is the season opener and it will be followed by the triathlon calendar later on in the year, when the sea will have got warmer.
The race, which consists of run 5km, cycle 30km and run 3km, is planned to be held at Birzebbugia, outside the Freeport Terminal.
MIA Olympic Special – What’s On
On Thursday on TVM at 5pm, Friday on E22 at 9pm (RPT), Sunday on E22 at 10am (RPT) and Monday on E22 at 2.30pm (RPT), the programme will feature the following:
GSSE Section – Table Tennis
The 12th Edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe will be taking place from 4-9 June 2007 in Monaco. Johanna Grech won Malta’s first gold Table Tennis medal in the Doubles with Shen Chan at the Iceland Games in 1997.
Joanna, along with Shen Chan and Christine Cassar Torreggiani, also placed second at these same games in the Team event.
Joanna and Christine went on to win the silver medal in the team event and Johanna and Chen Chan also took the silver medal in the Doubles at the Liechtenstein Games in 1999. Johanna and Christine went on to take part in the San Marino 2001 Games winning the bronze medal in the Doubles and the Team events.
Find out more about Johanna’s and Christine’s experiences at these GSSE Games.
Featured event
The 23rd Sedqa International Judo Open took place on Saturday at the Cottonera Sport Complex with an event for the younger competitors on Sunday. Both events were organised by the Malta Judo Federation.
MOC Director
Laurie Pace is director of library, records and archives. As an ex-elite athlete and an Olympian, she is also chairman for the Olympians’ Commission and chairman of the Athletes’ Commission; she also takes on the role of a Sports Attache. Find out more about Laurie Pace’s role within the MOC in this short interview.
Highlight events
This week’s highlights will focus on the Fencing National Championships organised by the National Fencing Association, which took place on the Saturday and Sunday. They will also cover the Table Tennis National Championships organised by the Malta Table Tennis Association, which took place between Friday and Sunday.
Schedule available every week on www.nocmalta.org and on The Malta Independent every Tuesday. Produced in collaboration with E22.
MOC elite athlete
Name: Angela Galea
Age: 23 years
Sport: Swimming
Discipline: (100/200m fly, 200/400m IM, 50/100m breast stroke)
Club: Neptunes Water Polo Club
Started: 1990
Job/Student Status: Medical Doctor
National Records:
• 50m Fly (Montreal, 2005): 29,84
• 100m Fly (Malta, 2003): 1:03,62
• 200m Fly (Luxemburg, 2003): 2:19,67
• 400m IM (Malta, 2003): 5:13,01
• 1500m Freestyle (Malta, 2004): 18,52,26
• 4x200m Freestyle (Malta, 2003): 9:08,03
• 4x100m Freestyle (Malta, 2003): 4:13,45
Achievements:
• Fifth place, 200m fly, GSSE Liechtenstein, 1999
• Two gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal, FISEC Games, Lisbon, Portugal 1999
• Two gold medals and two bronze medals, FISEC Games, Nantes, France, 2000
• Bronze medal, 200m fly, GSSE San Marino, 2001
• Two silver medals, 100m/200m fly, GSSE, Malta, 2003
• Bronze medal, 4x200m freestyle, GSSE, Malta, 2003
• Gold medal, 200m fly, UK international swim meet Exeter – Milfield University, 2005
• Gold medal, 100m breast stroke, UK international swim meet, Milfield University, 2005
• Gold medal, 200m IM, UK international swim meet, Milfield University, 2005
• Silver medal, 200m fly, competition, Slovenia, 2005
• Four gold medals, 100/200/50m fly, 200 IM, international meet, Malta, 2005
• Gold medal, 200m fly; bronze medal, 100m fly, San Marino, 2005
• Two gold medals, 100m/200m fly, International Titze cup, Berlin, Germany, 2005
• Gold medal, 200m fly, GSSE, Andorra, 2005
• Bronze medal, 100m fly, GSSE, Andorra, 2005
• Bronze medal, 4x200m freestyle, GSSE, Andorra, 2005
• Gold medal, 200m fly, Geneve international meet, 2006
• Gold medal, 4x200m free, 13th International Meet – Malta, 2006
• National champion 2000-2005 in all butterfly, IM events
• National champion 2005: 200m freestyle, 50m breast stroke, 200m IM and 100m fly
Other:
• Represented Malta at the Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia, 2000
• Represented Malta at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, 2002
• Represented Malta at the World Championships, Barcelona, 2003
• Was asked to join top Roman Club C.C. Aniene following a training camp in Italy in the build-up to Athens, 2004
• Represented Malta at the Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece, 2004
• Represented Malta at the Mediterranean Games in Almeria, 2005
• Represented Malta at the World Championships, Montreal, 2005
• Represented Malta at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, 2006
• Voted Sportswoman of the Year 2004/2005
• Flag-bearer in closing ceremony, GSSE, Andorra, 2005
• Malta Olympic Committee Sports Awards: silver award (2003), gold award (2005)
Angie Galea is a member of the MOC Elite Athlete Scheme which is sponsored by the Malta International Airport as part of the company’s Supporting Malta’s Sport sponsorship
Policy
GSSE aspiring athletes – judo
Name: Evgeny Ulanov
Age: 26 years
Sport: Judo
Club: O-Nami Martial Arts Centre
Grade: 1st Dan
Category: –81kg
Started: 1987. Did not train between 1996-2002
Occupation: Assistant national coach/manager
Personal Best: Second in the Central Russian Championships 1996
Achievements:
• Repeated Russian regional and home city champion (1990-1996)
• Second in the Central Russian Championships (1995)
• Second in the Malta Open (2003)
• First in the Malta Open (2005)
• Third in the Games of the Small States of Europe, Andorra (2005)
• Second in the Malta Open (2006)
Name: Joanna Camilleri
Age: 25 years
Sport: Judo
Discipline: –63Kg
Club: Hibernians Budokwai
Started: Got to know about it at Sir Adrian Dingli Junior Lyceum when she was 15 years old. Then she stopped because at that time she was in the national basketball team. She then started again aged 22 years.
Job: Graduated as a PE and HE teacher in 2004. Teacher at Vincenzo Borg Brared Boys’ Secondary School, Birkirkara.
Achievements:
• Bronze medal, International Competition, Cyprus (2004)
• Silver medal, National Championship Open (2005)
• Silver medal, Malta Open U63 Category (2005/2006)
• Silver medal, National Championship Open (2006)
• Fourth placing, International Competition, Trieste, Italy (2007)
Other:
• Sparring partner – Città di Roma, Ostia, Rome (2005)