Courtesy of olympics.com
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Poppy Olsen has joined Japanese skateboarder Kokona Hiraki and American speed skater Brittany Bowe in Lausanne, Switzerland to receive Fair Play awards from the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) in recognition of their extraordinary display of sporting spirit during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 respectively.
The Olympians received their trophies from International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Emma Terho at the newly inaugurated Espace Fair-Play (Fair Play Space) in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland.
“The values of friendship and fair play are embodied magnificently by Olympians Kokona Hiraki, Poppy Olsen and Brittany Bowe,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
“Through your actions, you remind us that sport teaches us to always give our best; to live in friendship; and to respect ourselves and others. You are an example to all of us and perfectly symbolise our Olympic motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.”
For summer sports, the Tokyo 2020 trophy went to skateboarders Kokona Hiraki (JPN), who took silver, and Poppy Olsen (AUS), who received the award on behalf of seven skateboarders. The group of women were honoured for lifting fellow athlete Misugu Okamoto (JPN) after three falls during the women’s skateboarding park finals in Tokyo.
“Misugu is one of our good friends, and an incredible skateboarder,” said Olsen.
“In the skateboarding community, we all love each other; we’ve all skated with each other for a long time. We all knew she was really the winner, so we lifted her up on our shoulders.”
The occasion was also marked by the official donation of a large skateable sculpture from the IOC and The Olympic Museum to the City of Lausanne. The ramp was created by renowned contemporary artist Rylsee, in consultation with the skateboarding community. Following its reshaping to make it more publicly accessible and its relocation to the Espace Fair-Play for Olympic Day, it will now be open for the public and Lausanne community to freely enjoy.
The International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) has recognised acts of sportsmanship at the Olympic Games through the Fair Play Awards ever since Beijing 2008. It is an IOC-recognised organisation created in 1963 to promote the ideals of fair play on the sports field and beyond. In addition to the Fair Play awards, it promotes global educational initiatives aimed at young people.
“It was wonderful to see that, despite the difficulties of COVID in Tokyo and Beijing, these athletes truly exemplified the Olympic values,” said Sunil Sabharwal, Secretary General of the CIFP. “It is also incredibly poignant that we were able to honour these incredible women in a public skate park that is being inaugurated in the Olympic Capital.”