Croatian 49er Sailors Presented With Fair Play Award

Croatia’s 49er Olympic representatives Pavle KOSTOV and Petar CUPAC and their coach Ivan BULAJA have been awarded the Pierre de Coubertin International Trophy for Fair Play by the International Committee for Fair Play.

The prestigious Trophy is awarded annually for an for an act of fair play by a team or an athlete and recognized the sporting gesture of Croatian team at the Beijing Olympic Games. 

Pavle KOSTOV and Petar CUPAC (CRO) failed to qualify for the Medal Race of the 49er competition, but upon receiving a phone call informing them that the Danish crew of Jonas WARRER and Martin Kirketerp IBSEN had snapped their mast shortly before the start, agreed to lend their boat – worth thousands of Euros – to the Danes. The young Croatians rigged their dinghy ready for action and consequently, the Danish team were able to compete in the 49er Medal Race and went on to sail the Croatian boat to seventh place, good enough to secure them the Olympic gold medal.

KOSTOV, CUPAC and BULAJA were nominated for the award by the Croatian Olympic Committee and the Danish crew. The presentation of the award was made in Budapest, Hungary, base of the International Committee for Fair Play.

The International Committee for Fair Play (CIFP) is a recognized organized of the International Olympic Committee. Established in 1963, it aims to promote the practice of fair play principles, which are essential to sport. Its main objective is to decide the winners of the International fair play prizes. The Pierre de Coubertin Trophy, named after Pierre DE COUBERTIN, who established the Olympic Charter an the Modern Olympic Games, is presented for “an act of fair play, which cost or could have cost the victory to a contender who sacrificed or compromised his chances of winning by complying not only with the written rules of the sport, but also with the ‘unwritten’ ones.”