The prestigious Women of the Year Award by World Athletics (WA) has been bestowed on Legendary Indian athlete Anju Bobby George for grooming talent in the country and advocating gender equality.
In the long jump, she is the only Indian to have won a medal in the World Championships 2003 edition with bronze.
“The former international long jump start from India is still actively involved in the sport. In 2016 she opened a training academy for young girls, which has already helped to produce a world U20 medallist,” World Athletics said.
Anju said she was “truly humbled and honoured to be awarded Woman of the Year by World Athletics”. “There is no better feeling than to wake up every day and give back to the sport, allowing it to enable and empower young girls! Thank you for recognising my efforts,” she tweeted.
“I am really, really happy to learn that this year’s Woman of the Year Award is considering my name. As an athlete, it was a hard journey but I still believe I could reach the level which I deserve. And now it’s my turn to give back to our sport,” Anju said in a video uploaded on Twitter by World Athletics.
“I am serving as senior vice-president of Indian athletic federation (AFI) and my academy, Anju Bobby George Foundation, is nurturing 13 women athletes, small kids, and within a short span of three years they will have already started their journey to the world stage”.
Moving to second on the world all-time lists, she also clocked world-leading times of 10.54 and 21.53 over 100m and 200m respectively.
