Mountain biker honoured by IOC and German Olympic Committee
Sabine Spitz (Central Ghost) gives maximum effort. (Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
Sabine Spitz was award the International Olympic Committee "Trophy 2009 for Sport and the Fight against Doping" by the German Olympic committee, in honour of her anti-doping stance. The award was made at the German Olympic committee meeting this weekend in Düsseldorf.
"Only fair sport has a future," Spitz said. "The most recent decisions make me optimistic that this path will be followed."
She supported calls to make doping a criminal offence, saying, "Why should doping be considered anything other than cheating? Sport is only successful without doping."
The 38-year-old has long been known for her anti-doping views. Claudia Bokel, the German IOC representative who made the award, noted that the mountain biker "rejects the idea of success at any price".
In 2003, Spitz became the first German to win the World Championship title in cross country mountain biking. She won the gold meal at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 with a dominating solo effort.
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