Paralympians Celebrated At Btsia
The groundbreaking achievements of Britain’s Paralympians, not only for sporting success but for raising awareness and support of the Paralympic movement to unprecedented levels, have been recognised with the Outstanding Contribution to British Sport Award, supported by the Jaguar Academy of Sport at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2013 ceremony on Thursday, 2nd May.
Multiple gold medallist Dame Sarah Storey and 100m Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock received the Award on behalf of the entire British team, who were honoured with a standing ovation from a star-studded crowd of 1,750 leaders in sport.
“The Paralympics evolves year on year, but London 2012 just crashed the boundaries,” said Peacock. “It was unbelievable – I never expected anything like it. I went to the Olympics for a day and I thought if it could be a tenth as good I would be happy – and then the Paralympics were even better.”
Storey added: “This Award shows huge progress from 21 years ago in a small office with a few volunteers. To put a team together, and pull all those sports together, all the way to the operation that we saw in 2012 – the vision, the planning, the business side of things and the corporate sponsors who were involved and are staying involved through to Rio – it’s a completely different story. So it’s a very exciting time and I feel honoured that I have been involved in the journey.”
6.3 million people watched Peacock win the Paralympic 100m final on television. Following the Games, it was reported that three-quarters of Britons feel more positive about the role of disabled people having watched the Paralympics – another key reason why Paralympics GB took home the Award in front of industry peers, media and celebrities.
The winners joined the best of the best from the UK sport industry, as those responsible for the greatest work of an historic 2012 were presented with the coveted trophies.
The Award, whose past winners include Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (2010), David Beckham (2007) and the London 2012 Olympic Bid Team (2006), is backed by the Jaguar Academy of Sport, which identifies and provides funding for ‘Rising Stars’ with the aim of producing great sportsmen and women – including the next generation of Paralympians.
The Official Partners of the BT Sport Industry Awards 2013 are Barclays, Deloitte and Eurosport.
