Justine Henin-Hardenne to fight against sports doping with the United Nations
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jun 27, 2006 | Print |
2006 Roland Garros champion Justine Henin-Hardenne has just been appointed as one of the United Nations’s “Champion for Sport”.
“With this appointment, the first of a woman UNESCO Champion for Sport, I am convinced that public attention and support for our campaign against doping in sport will be significantly bolstered,†Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the agency, said in his announcement.
Mr. Matsuura paid tribute to the number-three ranked player’s “strength of character and her commitment to excellence, fair-play and integrity. It is these attributes,†he continued, “and her ability to inspire young people that will help UNESCO to educate tomorrow’s athletes about ethics in sport and spread the anti-doping message.â€
(source: UN News Centre)
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has not been as plagued with doping problems as its male counterpart, the ATP Tour. Of course the latest drug fiasco with Bulgaria’s Sesil Karatantcheva comes to mind, but other than that and last year’s false allegations against Svetlana Kuznetsova, no other big doping controversies have occurred recently to my knowledge.
Justine Henin-Hardenne is not only the first woman to serve as a Champions of Sport, but she is also the only tennis player on the committee.
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