The accolades for Europe’s 2012 Ryder Cup victory just keep coming to the victors withe the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ captain, Jose Maria Olazabal receiving the 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports and Spain’s most prestigious sports award.
Describing Olazabal as “one of the greatest golfers in history,” the award jury pointed to Olazabal’s two Masters wins and four Ryder Cups, “a competition in which he also demonstrated his leadership ability when captaining the European team to an epic comeback in 2012.”
The 47-year old Olazabal, is the first golfer to win the prestigious award since his friend and hero Seve Ballesteros received it in 1989. Last fortnight he joined the late, great Ballesteros in adding winning the Seve Trophy to his long list of awards.
Jose Maria Olazabal receives the prestigious Prince of Astauris Award. (Photo – Getty Images).
Olazabal was among eight Spaniards honoured in fields ranging from science to literature that were presented by Crown Prince Felipe in a ceremony in the northern city of Oviedo.
”It’s very difficult even to get nominated for the award, so I never thought I’d win it, to be honest,” Olazabal said.
”Without question this is the most prestigious award I’ve ever received, so it’s a real honor. I don’t feel like I deserve it necessarily, but it’s very nice to receive it. I didn’t expect to win it, but now that I have I couldn’t be happier. I’ve always tried to conduct myself in the right way both on and off the course, and hopefully this is recognition of that.”
The Sports Award is bestowed upon the individual, group or institution whose lives are not only examples to others, but who have also reached new heights in mankind’s struggle for excellence, and who have contributed by their efforts to perfecting, nurturing, promoting and disseminating sport.
And if you’re wondering why Olazabal is only now receiving this award when the Ryder Cup was last year, it’s because the annual honorees are announced each summer – so the 2012 winners were chosen before the Ryder Cup.
