The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will award four individuals with the Paralympic Order, the highest tribute a person connected to the Paralympic movement can achieve, at the Paralympic Awards Gala in Beijing on December 10. The recipients are Matthias Berg, Luca Pancalli, Nabil Salem, and the late Randy Snow, according to a press release.
Berg, an active member of the German NPC, was a seven-time Paralympian, competing in alpine skiing and athletics. He has won 11 gold medals and 17 total medals between the World Championships and Paralympic Games.
Pancalli won eight gold medals, six silver medals and one bronze medal in swimming at the Paralympic games and headed the formation of the Italian Paralympic Committee in 2003. He simultaneously serves as the president of the Italian National Paralympic Committee (NPC) and the vice president of Italy’s Olympic Committee.
Salem was involved in the last nine Paralympic Games, holding positions such as vice president of the IPC, governing board member of the IPC and president of the NPC Egypt. He is also one of the IPC’s founding members.
Snow, a four-time Paralympian in wheelchair tennis and a member of the International Tennis Federation, passed away on November 19, 2009 while conducting wheelchair tennis clinics and workshops in El Salvador. He was a Paralympic and Olympic medalist and a 10-time US Open wheelchair tennis champion.
