Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has been announced as the winner of the 2007 International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) Beppe Croce Trophy, for outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing.

Rogge who has competed in three Olympics and who was elected as the eighth IOC President in July 2001, has a long and distinguished history in sailing. He started sailing at an early age as his family lived close to the sea, and soon started competing, before moving onto represent Belgium at the Mexico 1968, Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympic Games in the Finn dinghy, and won the Yachting World Cadet Trophy. He went on to serve as President for the International Finn Association from 1979-81 and was also a member of the ISAF Medical Commission from 1990-2000.

He joins a distinguished list of past winners of the ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy including His Majesties King Olav V of Norway and King Juan Carlos of Spain and four-time Olympic gold medallist Paul Elvstrom.

Rogge has dedicated much of his life to sport, and been involved in the Olympic movement since 1976, initially with the Belgian Olympic Committee, before joining the International Olympic Committee.

Commenting on the announcement, Rogge said, “I am honoured to receive this award and to join a list of such prestigious champions. Sailing has always been a real passion for me. I would like to thank ISAF for this distinction and for its dedication in promoting sailing across the globe.”

Rogge will be presented with the ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy by ISAF President Göran Petersson (SWE) at a dinner hosted by San Pellegrino in Paris, France on 4 May 2007, where ISAF will be holding its Mid-Year Meetings. Paris is an especially significant venue in ISAF’s centenary year, as the French capital is where the International Yacht Racing Union, which became ISAF in 1996, was formed in 1907.