QUEEN OF THE SKI SLOPES ANNA FENNINGER NAMED AS NEW LAUREUS AMBASSADOR
- World Cup winner Anna Fenninger celebrates her victory with a visit to Laureus Snow Tigers programme
- ‘I owe a lot to sport; the Laureus projects in Austria give me the chance to help children learn how sport can make them brave and strong to meet the challenges of their lives’ – says Anna Fenninger
- ‘People like Anna are great role models for young people in our projects, I welcome her to Laureus’ – says Olympic legend Franz Klammer
LONDON, March 25, 2015 - She is one of the best race skiers on the planet, the current Olympic and double world champion – and now Austria’s Anna Fenninger has been announced as a Laureus Ambassador.
Fenniger, fresh from her overall victory at the World Cup finals in Meribel, France on Saturday, expressed her delight at joining the Laureus Family: "I owe a lot to sport. The Laureus projects in Austria are the chance for me to help underprivileged children to learn how sport can make them brave and strong to meet the challenges of their lives.”
Immediately after her second consecutive overall World Cup victory, Fenninger, pictured alongside Laureus Ambassador Felix Gottwald, returned to the slopes to spend the day with disadvantaged children in the Austrian Ski resort of Stuhleck Semmering. She said: “I have a tough season behind me, I have been looking forward to this day for weeks.”
The Laureus Snow Tigers programme provides young people with the opportunity to experience the joy and excitement of sport. On skis, snowboards, skidoos or bi-skis, the children are given the chance to enjoy a sport they might not have otherwise been able to attempt.
The programme runs throughout the year but the children participating in the ski day receive an extra special experience. At the weekend many of the children would have been in front of their televisions, cheering Fenniger towards World Cup glory. Today, they are alongside their hero, enjoying and receiving tips and advice from the best in the sport.
Laureus Academy Member and Olympic legend Franz Klammer also praised Fenninger and her ambassadorial role, commenting: "Sport has the power to change the world - there is so much to do. People like Anna are great role models for children and young people in our projects. I welcome her to Laureus.”
Paul Schif, Managing Director of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Germany / Austria, said: "Former and active world-class athletes who have achieved excellence in sport and want to share with the weakest in our society is the whole idea of Laureus as a worldwide movement. In Germany and Austria the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation now supports 13 social projects for children and young people. There they learn values that give them courage and strength for life. In this climate of respect and appreciation children develop faith in themselves.”
Fenninger joins an impressive list of former and current sportsmen and women as Laureus Ambassadors, who, along with the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to utilise the power of sport to address social problems through a global programme of sports related community development initiatives. Laureus currently supports more than 150 projects around the world which have helped to improve the lives of millions of young people.
For photo downloads – Credit: GEPA / Laureus –
http://www.gepa-pictures.com/download/laureus/
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