Kingston of Vancouver Sun Wins IPC Written Award

Gary Kingston from Canada’s Vancouver Sun has won the written category of the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) 2011 Paralympic Media Awards, proudly partnered by the IPC's International Partner Allianz.

The award recognizes the highest quality and most dynamic written piece in print or online from the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

Kingston not only covered Canadian athletes, yet also reported on international heroes in a thorough, fair, balanced and enlightening manner.

He provided readers with background information on athletes and human interest stories, and capped off his time at the Games with a story on how Canada’s best-ever Paralympics may serve as a launch pad for the next generation.

Other highlights from his work included a story on Alexi Salamone, an orphaned Ukrainian-born hockey star who was raised by Americans, and a profile piece on Team Canada’s Paul Rosen, who lost his leg and his wife, but is happier than ever with his true love of sport.

Canada’s Terry Bell of the Vancouver Province was the other finalist for the award, as many of his pieces focused on the athletes themselves rather than just plain competition results.

The written category was open to all magazines, daily and weekly newspapers and websites for an editorial piece on the overall coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games or a Paralympic athlete or team.

The award will officially be presented to Kingston at a gala dinner during the IPC General Assembly in Beijing, China, on 10 December.