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The ISPO Cup honors outstanding athletes and their achievements. It is awarded annually as part of ISPO Munich - and has been since 1971. ISPO.com shows some of the impressive award winners and what they stand for in pictures.

Author: Eva Doll
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Awards
The Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen has owned an ISPO trophy since 2019. The biathlon legend competed for the last time in December 2018. He can look back on eight gold medals at the Winter Olympics and numerous overall World Cup victories. He is considered the most successful biathlete in history.
2014 - Swede David Lega has set a total of 14 world records as a Paralympic swimmer. He has been active in politics since 2011, first as Mayor of Gothenburg and now as a Member of the European Parliament. The ISPO trophy was presented to him by Klaus Dittrich, Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München (right).
2013: Base jumper Felix Baumgartner (right) jumped from the stratosphere at the end of 2012: the highest parachute jump to date at over 38,900 meters. Additional record: 36,400 meters free fall. Klaus Dittrich, CEO of Messe München GmbH, presented the extreme athlete with the ISPO trophy the following year.
2002: Ingemar Stenmark was a Swedish ski racer from 1973 to 1989. The two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion and three-time winner of the overall World Cup is considered one of the most successful alpine ski racers since 1967. He won 86 World Cups till this day, nobody challenged him. In the picture he is holding the ISPO Cup with Manfred Wutzlhofer (l.), who was then head of the tradeshow. Also present (from left to right): Hans Spitzner
1998: Henry Maske (center) was presented with the trophy by Manfred Wutzlhofer (left), then Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München, for his extraordinary and fair sporting success as a professional boxer. Maske was IBF World Light Heavyweight Champion from March 1993 - a title he defended until 1996.
The cycling legend Eddy Merckx (left) from Belgium, who was awarded the ISPO trophy in 1993, is considered to be the most successful cyclist of all time. The "Mémoire du Cyclisme" website lists a total of 525 road victories from 1966 to 1978, 98 victories on the track and two victories in cyclo-cross races. He ended his sporting career in 1977 and set up a company under his name that manufactured racing bikes.
Austrian Franz Klammer (center), who became famous as a ski racer, earned the ISPO trophy in 1992. With 25 downhill victories, he went down in World Cup history as the most successful downhill skier at the time. Kammerer also won the gold medal in the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
South Tyrolean Reinhold Messner, who turned 75 in 2019, received the ISPO trophy in 1989 (l.). Reinhold Messner is considered one of the most famous mountaineers in the world and has changed the style of high-altitude mountaineering. In 1978, together with Peter Habeler, he was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest without oxygen tanks. From 1970 to 1986, he also climbed 14 eight-thousanders - many more extreme summits followed.
In 1987, the ISPO trophy went to the US track and field athlete and three-time Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph (*1940; † 1994) (center). In 1960, the sprinter also went down in history as the first woman in the world to run under 23 seconds over 200 meters. One year later, she set another world record of 11.2 seconds over 100 meters. The Wilma Rudolph Foundation, which she founded, supports young female athletes.
In 1985, Austria's probably most famous ski racer Toni Sailer (*1935 † August 24, 2009) received an ISPO trophy. Toni Sailer (r.) was not only the winner of three Olympic gold medals, won at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina D'Ampezzo, and seven world championship titles, but also an actor and singer. The premium sports brand Toni Sailer, founded in 2004, is named after him.
Cup winner 1983: Pelé, the exceptional Brazilian footballer (on the podium), who is considered by many to be the best player of all time. By the end of his soccer career in 1977, he had scored well over 1,250 goals. In 1999, he was voted Sportsman of the Past Century by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
On February 27, 1982, the then exceptional Czechoslovak athlete Emil Zatopek (*1922; † November 21, 2000) was awarded the trophy (r.). The runner set numerous world records between 1949 and 1955. He won Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters in London in 1948 and three Olympic gold medals in Helsinki in 1952.
Max Schmeling (*1905; † February 2, 2005), who is still considered one of Germany's most popular athletes today, became an ISPO trophy winner in 1972. The German heavyweight boxer held the world title from 1930 to 1932. Schmeling's boxing fight statistics were 56 victories in 70 professional fights.
German professional footballer Fritz Walter (*1920; † June 17, 2002) was awarded the ISPO Cup in 1974 (r.). 20 years earlier, he led the German team to the historic World Cup title ("Miracle of Bern"). He was the first national player to be named honorary captain.
The first ISPO Cup went to the Norwegian Birger Ruud (*1911; † June 13, 1998) in 1971. The trophy winner was a legendary ski jumper and ski racer - he was considered one of the world's best ski jumpers of the 1930s. In 1932 and 1936, he won Olympic gold medals for jumping off the large hill. He also set two hill records and became world champion five times.
The Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen has owned an ISPO trophy since 2019. The biathlon legend competed for the last time in December 2018. He can look back on eight gold medals at the Winter Olympics and numerous overall World Cup victories. He is considered the most successful biathlete in history.
2014 - Swede David Lega has set a total of 14 world records as a Paralympic swimmer. He has been active in politics since 2011, first as Mayor of Gothenburg and now as a Member of the European Parliament. The ISPO trophy was presented to him by Klaus Dittrich, Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München (right).
2013: Base jumper Felix Baumgartner (right) jumped from the stratosphere at the end of 2012: the highest parachute jump to date at over 38,900 meters. Additional record: 36,400 meters free fall. Klaus Dittrich, CEO of Messe München GmbH, presented the extreme athlete with the ISPO trophy the following year.
2002: Ingemar Stenmark was a Swedish ski racer from 1973 to 1989. The two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion and three-time winner of the overall World Cup is considered one of the most successful alpine ski racers since 1967. He won 86 World Cups till this day, nobody challenged him. In the picture he is holding the ISPO Cup with Manfred Wutzlhofer (l.), who was then head of the tradeshow. Also present (from left to right): Hans Spitzner
1998: Henry Maske (center) was presented with the trophy by Manfred Wutzlhofer (left), then Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München, for his extraordinary and fair sporting success as a professional boxer. Maske was IBF World Light Heavyweight Champion from March 1993 - a title he defended until 1996.
The cycling legend Eddy Merckx (left) from Belgium, who was awarded the ISPO trophy in 1993, is considered to be the most successful cyclist of all time. The "Mémoire du Cyclisme" website lists a total of 525 road victories from 1966 to 1978, 98 victories on the track and two victories in cyclo-cross races. He ended his sporting career in 1977 and set up a company under his name that manufactured racing bikes.
Austrian Franz Klammer (center), who became famous as a ski racer, earned the ISPO trophy in 1992. With 25 downhill victories, he went down in World Cup history as the most successful downhill skier at the time. Kammerer also won the gold medal in the downhill at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
South Tyrolean Reinhold Messner, who turned 75 in 2019, received the ISPO trophy in 1989 (l.). Reinhold Messner is considered one of the most famous mountaineers in the world and has changed the style of high-altitude mountaineering. In 1978, together with Peter Habeler, he was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest without oxygen tanks. From 1970 to 1986, he also climbed 14 eight-thousanders - many more extreme summits followed.
In 1987, the ISPO trophy went to the US track and field athlete and three-time Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph (*1940; † 1994) (center). In 1960, the sprinter also went down in history as the first woman in the world to run under 23 seconds over 200 meters. One year later, she set another world record of 11.2 seconds over 100 meters. The Wilma Rudolph Foundation, which she founded, supports young female athletes.
In 1985, Austria's probably most famous ski racer Toni Sailer (*1935 † August 24, 2009) received an ISPO trophy. Toni Sailer (r.) was not only the winner of three Olympic gold medals, won at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina D'Ampezzo, and seven world championship titles, but also an actor and singer. The premium sports brand Toni Sailer, founded in 2004, is named after him.
Cup winner 1983: Pelé, the exceptional Brazilian footballer (on the podium), who is considered by many to be the best player of all time. By the end of his soccer career in 1977, he had scored well over 1,250 goals. In 1999, he was voted Sportsman of the Past Century by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
On February 27, 1982, the then exceptional Czechoslovak athlete Emil Zatopek (*1922; † November 21, 2000) was awarded the trophy (r.). The runner set numerous world records between 1949 and 1955. He won Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters in London in 1948 and three Olympic gold medals in Helsinki in 1952.
Max Schmeling (*1905; † February 2, 2005), who is still considered one of Germany's most popular athletes today, became an ISPO trophy winner in 1972. The German heavyweight boxer held the world title from 1930 to 1932. Schmeling's boxing fight statistics were 56 victories in 70 professional fights.
German professional footballer Fritz Walter (*1920; † June 17, 2002) was awarded the ISPO Cup in 1974 (r.). 20 years earlier, he led the German team to the historic World Cup title ("Miracle of Bern"). He was the first national player to be named honorary captain.
The first ISPO Cup went to the Norwegian Birger Ruud (*1911; † June 13, 1998) in 1971. The trophy winner was a legendary ski jumper and ski racer - he was considered one of the world's best ski jumpers of the 1930s. In 1932 and 1936, he won Olympic gold medals for jumping off the large hill. He also set two hill records and became world champion five times.

The award winners of the past decades come from all disciplines of the international sports world. All award winners have one thing in common: great, fair sport and their passion for it - with which they wrote sporting history.

In 2023, Nirmal Purja will receive the ISPO Cup as part of the German Sustainability Award ceremony! The Nepalese mountaineer managed to climb all 14 eight-thousanders in record time in 2019. He is being honored for his commitment to protecting nature and mountain communities in the Himalayas.

2022 the newly conceived ISPO Cup went to a company for the first time: Patagonia received the award for the company's positive contribution to society.

In 2020, the exceptional Kenyan long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe received the award for outstanding personalities in the world of sport in the festive setting of the VIP dinner at the ICM Munich.

Sports greats such as world century athlete Fritz Walter, one of the protagonists of the "Miracle of Bern" or Sepp Bradl, who was the first person to jump over 100 meters on skis, as well as tennis legend Gottfried von Cramm, soccer emperor Franz Beckenbauer, the Chinese former gymnast and current entrepreneur Li-Ning or the multiple Olympic champion Katharina Witt join the ranks of the honorees.

ISPO.com shows other trophy winners from international sport from the 1970s to the present day.

Author: Eva Doll
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