Sports Illustrated Honors Eunice Kennedy Shriver with the First Sportsman of the Year Legacy Award

3 December 2008

Award presented in conjunction with full-length feature about Special Olympics in this week's issue of Sports Illustrated Read the Sports Illustrated story On 3 December 2008, Sports Illustrated honored Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver with the first Sportsman of the Year Legacy Award at the 2008 Sportsman of the Year celebration in New York City. Bobby Shriver, Mrs. Shriver's son, attended the celebration and accepted the award on her behalf. The Sportsman of the Year Legacy Award was created to recognize those who have, over the course of their lifetime, demonstrated the ideals of sportsmanship. Mrs. Shriver was recognized for having transformed a population. In 1968, she marched alongside 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. states in the first Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies in Chicago, Illinois. On that day Mrs. Shriver recited the impactful words that remain the Special Olympics athlete oath: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." Today more than 2.8 million athletes participate in Special Olympics in over 180 countries worldwide. In addition to recognizing Mrs. Shriver's lifetime of selfless contributions, this week's issue of Sports Illustrated includes a special feature on Special Olympics. The Sports Illustrated issue featuring Special Olympics, with Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps on the cover, is available on newsstands today. Phelps was also featured on the cover of the most recent issue of Special Olympics' Spirit magazine. He was one of several U.S. Olympic swimmers who toured China in 2007 to build awareness of the Special Olympics and Olympic Games. Back row (L-R): Mark Ford, President, Sports Illustrated Group; Terry McDonell, Editor, Sports Illustrated Group; Bobby Shriver; Michael Phelps, SI's 2008 Sportsman of the Year; Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports; Alan Shipnuck, SI Senior Writer; and Bob Der, SI Kids Managing Editor. Front row (L-R): Special Olympics athlete Zach Edenzon and Derek Andrews, 2008 SI SportsKid of the Year. Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage.com