Former France international forward David Trezeguet and Swiss pharmaceutical company IBSA were amongst those recognised in the 2023 Sports For Nature Awards, held at the Monaco Yacht Club (YCM) on Friday.
Under the high patronage of Prince Albert II, in attendance at the YCM for the second edition of the event, and the first in Monaco, the winners of the 2023 awards were named. Alberto Bona, a skipper in the latest edition of the Route du Rhum; Yohann Taberlet a French Paralympic skier; David Trezeguet, a former AS Monaco forward and World Cup-winner with France back in 1998; and IBSA a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company were all awarded for their concrete commitment towards protecting the environment through their sporting activities.
The association, created by Stefano Tirelli last year, seeks to reward international athletes that use their platform to spread environmentalist messages. On the eve of Friday’s event at the YCM, high-level sportspeople, who are ambassadors of climate activism, gathered at the Hermitage for the awarding of three green ambassadors, one of which was IBSA.
A partnership with the Antibes Yacht Club
The pharmaceutical company have been rewarded for their commitment to raising awareness of issues surrounding social integration and inclusion through its work in sailing.
“In France, we have chosen to be a partner of the Antibes Yacht Club (International Yacht Club d’Antibes, IYCA) in order to support great inclusive sailing initiatives. We have, in 2022, donated two boats adapted for children with disabilities, to involve them in experiences in close contact with the sea, allowing them to sail with accessible boats and participate in integrated races,” said IBSA’s CEO in France Fabrice Jover.
The event also provided an opportunity for counter-admiral, director of the Hydrographic Institute of the Marina of Genoa and vice-president of Sport For Nature Monaco, Massimiliano Nannini, to speak about his institute’s journey to the North Pole in front of the attentive Prince Albert II, who is no stranger to the region, nor its precarious existence.
Using the voices of renowned international athletes as a vessel to amplify an environmentalist message is at the heart of the Sport For Nature project, and through a third edition of the awards, which will take place in Milan later this year, and a fourth edition in Monaco this time next year, those voices will garner even greater reach.
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Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life