Bonn, Germany – Yesterday, Canadian wheelchair athlete Chantal Petitclerc was named Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability at the sixth annual Laureus World Sports Awards. The award was presented by film stars Jackie Chan and Dennis Franz at a ceremony held at the Casino Estoril, Portugal. The prestigious Laureus Awards honour the world's best sportsmen and women and celebrate sporting excellence across all disciplines and continents.

Ms. Petitclerc was an outstanding performer in Athletics at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games with five gold medals, winning every race in which she competed and breaking four world records, six Paralympic records and four Canadian records. She was chosen to carry the Canadian flag at the Closing Ceremony and in December 2004 received Canada's Meritorious Service Medal. Amongst other honours, she was awarded Female Athlete of the Year at the Canadian Sports Awards. She was also named Athlete of the Year by the Canadian Wheelchair Sport Association and selected as one of ten most Influential Women in Canadian sport in 2004 by CAAWS, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.

 

After winning the award, Chantal Petitclerc, stated: “If any of you would have told me 20 years ago that I would be here today, I would not have believed you, because 20 years ago I had just had my accident. I congratulate every finalist. We all have big dreams. I am not alone with this trophy. It takes a team to make a champion. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me. A world class performance is a world class performance - on a bike, in the pool or in a wheelchair.”

Other nominees in the category for Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability were Cheri Blauwet (Athletics, USA), Jonas Jacobssen (Shooting, Sweden), Lee Pearson (Equestrian, Great Britain), Clodoaldo Silva (Swimming, Brazil) and Henry Wanyoike (Athletics, Kenya).

The Awards Ceremony, presented by Morgan Freeman and Marcia Gay Harden, was watched by a global TV audience of 460 million and featured many well-known personalities  including King Juan Carlos of Spain, actress Teri Hatcher, former Formula One drivers Jean Alesi and Mika Hakkinen, Laureus Academy members Boris Becker and Edwin Moses, England Football captain David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham.

The Laureus Awards Ceremony was the climax of two days of exciting sports events including the Laureus Golf Challenge, the Laureus Beach Festival at Tamariz Beach and the Laureus Regatta in Cascais Bay.