COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Endowment today announced the recipients of its three awards that will be presented during the annual awards ceremony on December 8 at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dara Torres, Olympic swimming champion, will be the recipient of the George M. Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award; Bob Beamon, Olympic and world record holder in the long jump, will be recognized with the William E. Simon Award; and equestrian David O’Connor will be the honoree of the General Douglas MacArthur Award. Each of these individuals will be honored for their commitment and contributions to the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
At the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, Dara Torres became the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics, taking home three silver medals and inspiring many older athletes to consider re-entering competition. Dara is an author and speaker and continues to inspire people to pursue their dreams regardless of their age. The Steinbrenner award is presented annually to honor outstanding members of the Olympic and Paralympic family who have contributed to sport through management, sport organization endeavors or the enhancement of competitive opportunities; and who have displayed qualities of leadership, ethical conduct and dedicated responsibility during a longstanding commitment to sport.
Bob Beamon landed a world and Olympic-record destroying long jump of 29 feet, 2 ½ inches at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City – a record that still stands over 50 years later. Bob is an inspirational speaker, remaining active in the Olympic Movement and working to help award college scholarships to qualified high school seniors. The Simon award is given to an individual or group who has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
One of the most successful athletes ever to compete in Three-Day Eventing, David O’Connor has also become one of the most dynamic and respected leaders in the history of U.S. equestrian sport. David was instrumental in joining US Equestrian and the U.S. Equestrian Team into one organization and then leading the new National Governing Body to achieve unprecedented success during his tenure. The Douglas MacArthur award is given to an individual who has exhibited exemplary service to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and to athletes.
The USOE was established by the USOC (now the USOPC) in 1984 to administer and invest the corpus of endowed funds that resulted from the surplus of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. A nonprofit organization, its objective is to support the USOPC and its member organizations, with the overall aim of enhancing Olympic and Paralympic sports in the United States. A separate entity from the USOPC, the USOE’s net assets have grown to approximately $259 million, while awarding grants to the USOPC and its member organizations totaling $350 million over the last 37 years.
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