IOC honours first female and youngest Sports Minister in Malaysia

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today joined in International Women’s Day and revealed the winners of its 2008 Women and Sport Awards.

During the Opening Ceremony of the IV IOC World Conference on Women and Sport in Jordan, IOC President Jacques Rogge announced that the World “Women and Sport” Trophy has been awarded to the first female and youngest Minister of Youth and Sports in Malaysia, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said. Azalina was honoured for boosting the number of women practising sport in Malaysia – and this just under four years since her appointment.

As well as the World Trophy, five continental trophies were presented to women who have made outstanding contributions to strengthening the participation of women and girls in sport around the world. The 2008 winners - a mix of political personalities and former top athletes - were selected by the IOC Women and Sport Commission from 70 candidatures submitted by the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations (IFs):

- Trophy for Africa: Ana Paula Dos Santos (Angola)

- Trophy for the Americas: Abby Hoffman (Canada)

- Trophy for Asia: Lingwei Li (China)

- Trophy for Europe: Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria)

- Trophy for Oceania: Debbie Watson (Australia)