27/12/2012
At the JAAF Athletics Award held on December 13, 2012 in Tokyo, Mr. Pierre Weiss, a former IAAF General Secretary received the Prince Chichibu Award.
Distinguished Mr. Kono
Dear Friends,
I am delighted to be with you tonight and I am very honored by your decision to grant to me the Prince Chichibu Award. Almost my all life was dedicated to Athletics, a wonderful sport and, for the last 25 years, to the IAAF.
2012 saw a lot of commemoration of the IAAF Centenary, climaxing with the Gala in Barcelona last month. Our President Lamine Diack was proud to announce that: "I believe strongly that the greatest strength of the IAAF is Universality - we have grown from 17 members to 212! "
Since 100 years, Japan and IAAF have developed relations in which there was never any cloud. It was a perfect example of loyal partnership. My first trip to Japan was in September 1980... and it was already for Athletics reason: the Eight Nation Games! Japan is indeed a country of Sport, a home country for Our Sport: Athletics. Japan has organised six IAAF World Championships. It started in 1985 in Hiroshima with the World Marathon Cup, then the famous World Championship's 91 in Tokyo followed by the Grand Prix Final 1997 in Fukuoka, Indoors 1999 in Mabaeshi, the Cross Country 2006 in Fukuoka and more recently the World Championships (again) in Osaka in 2007. Everyone is hoping to come again to Japan!
Japan was also the venue of the 1964 Olympic Games where the IAAF had its 24th Congress and I was amazed to find that the Opening Words were pronoun-ced by the Princess CHICHIBU herself. She said: "This Congress offers a wonderful occasion for fostering closer friendship and deeper understanding among the countries. It illustrates the true spirit of co-operation and sportsmanship." The principles evoked in this speech are still valid today: Sport (and Athletics in particular) is of course Competition, but also Loyalty and Friendship and I am proud to confirm that this philosophy still prevails in all decisions of the IAAF.
I was lucky to be able to live in this environment in the last 25 years and did my best to try to contribute to the development of our Sport. By accepting this Honor, I would like to give the proof that Athletics can gather the world and contribute to the development of understandings between the people irrelevant of their origin. Thank you again to all of you.
Pierre Weiss
