Irish journalist David Walsh has been given a lifetime achievement award at the BT Sports Industry Awards in London.
The Sunday Times writer was lauded as having ‘fought for the very soul of sport’ over the course of a 13 year questioning and investigation of Lance Armstrong.
Walsh’s campaigning, together with that of Paul Kimmage, was credited by many as having been instrumental in exposing the American’s eventually admitted long term use of performance enhancing drugs.
When Armstrong won his first Tour in 1999, the Sunday Times carried the story under Walsh’s bye line and a headline which simply stated ‘Flawed Fairytale’. It followed up with stories based around a mixture of admissions from those close to the cyclist and investigations on some of the methods used to maintain his strong grip on the sport.
Armstrong sued Walsh and the Sunday Times winning over €1 million in damages but the paper is now seeking to have this money returned in light of the subsequent validation of its, and Walsh’s claims.
Other winners on the night of the Awards included Channel 4 for its promotion and coverage of the Paralympic Games at London 2012; Adidas who won best Sport Brand of the Year and best Integrated Sports Marketing Campaign; and Britain’s Paralympians themselves who were given the award of best contribution to British sport.
Cycling earned some redemption through the selection of Cycling GB as the best sports governing body of the year and Sky’s sponsorship of the sport was also recognised with an award.
Irish Sports Club web service, and Sport for Business member Teamer.net was shortlisted for the prestigious Sports Website of the year but had to give second best on this occasion to the might of the BBC. It won the award in 2012.
Talks have taken place over the creation of a similar awards series honouring those involved in the business of sport in Ireland. Would you support such a venture? Let us know your thoughts on this or any other subject between the worlds of sport and business by reaching us through our contact page.
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