Jordan Olympic Committee to honour athletes at Black Iris Sports Awards

Jordan’s sporting Oscars to recognise excellence in the Kingdom

The Jordan Olympic Committee will honour Jordan’s top athletes at the Black Iris Sports Awards on 23 March at the Hala Hall in Al Hussein Youth City.

A total of five awards will be presented at the annual ceremony with nominees representing a variety of sports across Jordan.

Two Black Iris Sports Awards have been decided in advance of the ceremony with recipients Rana Qubbaj and Eman al Adayleh being honoured in the categories of Best Sportswoman and Best Young Achiever – Female after the expert panel decided their 2014 achievements were unrivalled.

The nominees for the remaining three Black Iris Sports Awards are as follows:

Best Sportsman

Abdel Rahman Al Masatfeh (Karate): Silver at Asian Games

Odai Al Hindawi (Boxing): Silver at the Asian Games

Mohammad Salameh (Muay Thai): Bronze at Asian Beach Games, Gold in Arab Championship

Best Young Achiever – Male

Obadah Al Kisbeh (Boxing): Bronze at Asian Games

Hamzeh Qattan (Taekwondo): Silver at World Youth Championships

Zaid Al Halawani (Taekwondo): Gold at World Junior Championships

Best Paralympic Athlete

Moutaz Al Juniadi (Weightlifting): Gold at World Championships, Silver at Paralympic Asian Games

Khetam Abu Awad (Table Tennis): Silver at World Championships, Bronze at Parlaympic Asian Games

Abdel Kareem Khattab (Weightlifting): Gold in Asian Paralympic Games

JOC Secretary General Lana Al Jaghbeer commented: "Created in 2006, the Black Iris Sports Awards are Jordan’s sporting Oscars - recognising the immense sporting talent that we have in Jordan. The Awards provide an excellent opportunity for our passionate community of fans in Jordan and around the world to honour our athletes and recognise their hard work.

"Sport has the power to bring a sense of national pride and belonging and the Black Iris Sports Awards are a welcome source of national celebration. We look forward to what will be a fantastic event."

Over 125,000 votes were collected for this year’s edition of the Black Iris Sports Awards via the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) Facebook page and the JOC website. This new format ensured stronger engagement with the public as part of the JOC’s ongoing effort to connect with sports fans around the world.

The JOC posted pictures of each nominee on Facebook and fans were able to vote by simply liking the picture of the athlete they felt was most deserving of the Award. The athlete with the most likes, combined with the number of votes accumulated on the JOC website, determined the winner.

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