(From L. to R.) Jacques Rogge and Mrs Portia Simpson Miller.[IOC]

(From L. to R.) Naila Shatara-Kharroub, Fridah Bilha Shiroya, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Portia Simpson Miller, Jacques Rogge, Anita L. DeFrantz and Ilse Bechthold.[IOC]

"The IOC, through its Women and Sport Commission, has been working untiringly to implement programs that enable women and girls the world over to feel fully involved in the universal movement to promote women in and through sport". IOC President Jacques Rogge stressed at the ceremony.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will see the participation of an additional 128 female athletes. The number of players in women's football, hockey, and handball teams will increase from 10 to 12. New events on the Olympic Program also account for the surge in numbers: there are now a women's 10 km open water, a women's 3000 meters steeplechase, and female fencing foil and saber team competitions. In addition, the doubles events in table tennis have been replaced by team events.

The winners are selected by the IOC Women and Sport Commission, among 65 candidatures submitted by the National Olympic Committees (NOC) and International Olympic Sports Federations (IFs). Ever since 2000, the IOC has paid tribute annually to individuals or organizations who work for the promotion of women in the world of sports.

The Chinese women's football team won the Asian trophy in 2000, when the IOC created the award. Because of their magnetic personality, and their undaunted self-confidence and dedication, the players set an outstanding example for all Chinese female athletes to emulate. Their achievements reveal the great vitality of Chinese female sports in the People's Republic of China.

Thanks to the steady and vigorous development of sporting activities for women in China, the percentage of Chinese women engaged in some kind of sporting routine has been growing year by year and now stands at round about 27 percent according to a survey conducted last year.