Veteran Olympic Writers Honored at OJA Meeting

(ATR) Three journalists were honored at an awards ceremony staged by the Olympic Journalists Association.

Olympic historians David Miller and David Wallechinsky and Alain Lunzenfichter, the former Olympic correspondent for L’equipe, received lifetime achievement accolades at the OJA’s first awards ceremony on the sidelines of the IOC Session earlier this week.

The trio have covered 62 Summer and Winter Olympics between them. Miller has also attended 14 FIFA World Cups.

Miller’s "The Official History of the Olympic Games and the IOC" and Wallechinsky’s "The Complete Book of the Olympics" are highly-regarded books on the Olympic Movement.

Lunzenfichter’s book about the IOC is set to be published next year.

IOC president Thomas Bach spoke at the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by IOC members Dick Pound, Pat Hickey, Guy Drut, Camiel Eurlings and around 35 journalists.

"We are here to honor these three gentlemen. We could call them the three musketeers of Olympics reporting," said Bach in a short speech.

"What they all have in common is that they share a love for sport, for the Olympic values, for the athletes and the Olympic Movement.

"Despite their love and appreciation, they have also always kept a certain distance, which was and is always a very constructive one," he said.

"I think this is the best attitude you can take. You can and should be critical. It should be constructive in a way and based on facts. The three of them… they have contributed a lot to establish these facts and also the anecdotes with regards to the Olympic Games."

OJA president Steve Wilson, who is European sports editor of the Associated Press and has himself covered 14 Olympics, emceed the ceremony.

The OJA was established in 2006. Wilson became president of the association last year after Lunzenfichter stepped down from the position.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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