Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award


The Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award is named after South Korean Dr. Whang Youn Dai, who contracted polio at the age of three. She devoted her life to the development of paralympic sport in Korea and around the world. At the 1988 Paralympic Summer Games in Seoul, Korea, the International Paralympic Committee recognized her lifelong contributions to the Paralympic Movement and established the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award. Since then, this award has been presented at every Paralympic Games to one male and one female athlete who each "best exemplify the spirit of the Games and inspire and excite the world".
According to the IPC, "the award is for someone who is fair, honest and is uncompromising in his or her values and prioritizes the promotion of the Paralympic Movement above personal recognition." Six finalists, three female and three male, are selected from participants at the Paralympic Games. Two winners are then selected as recipients of the prize and receive a gold medal at the closing ceremonies of the Games. South African sprint runner Oscar Pistorius was nominated for the award in 2012, but did not win.

Winners

YearHostSeasonWinner
1988SeoulSummerAnne Trotman
1988SeoulSummerPier Morten
1992BarcelonaSummerJacile Wolfgang
1992BarcelonaSummerGabriel Angel
1996AtlantaSummerBeatriz Mendoza Rivero
1996AtlantaSummerDavid Lega
1998NaganoWinterKim Mi-Jeong
1998NaganoWinterMarcin Kos
2000SydneySummerMartina Willing
2000SydneySummerOumar B. Kone
2002Salt Lake CityWinterLauren Woolstencroft
2002Salt Lake CityWinterAxel Hecker
2004AthensSummerZanele Situ
2004AthensSummerRainer Schmidt
2006TorinoWinterOlena Iurkovska
2006TorinoWinterLonnie Hannah
2008BeijingSummerNatalie Du Toit
2008BeijingSummerSaid Gomez
2010VancouverWinterColette Bourgonje
2010VancouverWinterEndo Takayuki
2012LondonSummerMary Nakhumicha Zakayo
2012LondonSummerMichael McKillop
2014SochiWinterBibian Mentel-Spee
2014SochiWinterToby Kane
2016Rio de JaneiroSummerTatyana McFadden
2016Rio de JaneiroSummerIbrahim Al Hussein
2018PyeongChangWinterSini Pyy
2018PyeongChangWinterAdam Hall