Sir Philip Craven Wins Leadership In Sport Award
Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), was honoured with the Leadership in Sport Award in association with Nolan Partners at the BT Sport Industry Awards in London on Thursday.
His stance in banning Russian athletes from competing in the Rio Paralympic Games last year was widely lauded. The ban was imposed following the McLaren Report into doping which alleged that more than 1,000 Russian athletes benefited from a state-sponsored doping programme in that country.
The BT Sport Industry Awards is the largest commercial sports awards ceremony celebrating the best in the business and it attracts sports stars, celebrities and leading figures from across the industry.
The event was attended by 1,700 guests, Sir Philip was recognised for his decisive leadership throughout a challenging year.
Sir Philip and the IPC’s decision to ban Russia was in contrast to that of the IOC, which left it up to individual federations to implement bans ahead of the Olympics.
Sir Philip was also faced with a shortfall in host city funds for the Paralympics. But in his own words he tried to emulate the athletes he was supporting and sought simply to ‘rise to the occasion’ in meeting the challenge.
His award was made to him by Olympic gold medal-winning GB women’s hockey captain, Kate Richardson-Walsh OBE.
Richardson-Walsh added on stage: “Sir Philip has been a case study in leadership this year. Faced with a nightmare situation, he and his team acted clearly and decisively. The decision to ban the Russian Paralympic team was brave and cannot have been arrived at lightly, given the Russians’ influence on the world stage. But his actions earned him widespread praise from around the world because it sent the message that the Paralympic movement would not tolerate doping, no matter what.”
Sir Philip Craven acknowledged the role of his team in winning the award.
“I’ve accepted the award on behalf of the governing board and the whole Paralympic movement, upholding the spirit of sport. The board was unanimous on key decisions so this award is for us all.”
BT is headline partner of the Awards, with Coutts, ESPN and EY official partners.
