Three great Olympic champions - Kip Keino, Alberto Tomba and Katarina Witt - members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, were guests of honour at a special media reception held by Laureus and AIPS, the international sports journalists association, to celebrate the Winter Olympic Games.

The Laureus Academy members joined former Winter Olympic Champions, members of the International Olympic Committee and the world’s media at the event. Presentations were made to many of the great sportsmen and sportswomen present.

Among those attending the event in Vancouver were former Canadian Olympian Charmaine Crooks, China's gold medallist pairs skaters Zhao Hongbo and Shen Zhao, Russia's figure skating silver medallist Evgeni Plushenko, Korean speed skater and gold medallist Sang Hwa Lee, Italian olympic gymnast Yuri Chechi and AIPS president Gianni Merlo

The event comes just weeks before the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards are presented in Abu Dhabi on March 10. Among those nominated for an Award is American super star skier Lindsey Vonn, winner of last week’s blue riband Downhill event at Whistler.

Italian Slalom legend and Laureus Academy Member Alberto Tomba, who won three Olympic gold medals, said: “The atmosphere of the Olympic Games is unique. We all appreciate the fantastic achievements of all the great skiers in Vancouver. The Olympic Games, whether summer or winter, always produce the most memorable sporting performances and it was terrific to be here to savour the moment.”

Katarina Witt, who won two Olympic ice skating gold medals, said; “The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation aims to use the spirit of sport to bring people together and create a force for good, as does the Olympic Movement, which is why we are delighted to be here in Vancouver. Laureus is now ten years old and supports over 70 projects around the world which use sport as the means to overcome difficult social problems, including poverty, homelessness, violence, drug abuse, discrimination and AIDS. It is very important that we come to a major sporting forum like the Olympics and inform the public about the work we do.”

The Laureus Academy members volunteer their services as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which addresses social problems through a worldwide programme of sports related community development initiatives. Since its inception Laureus has raised €20 million (US$27 million) for projects which have helped improve the lives of more than one million young people.

The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy are: Giacomo Agostini, Marcus Allen, Severiano Ballesteros, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Ian Botham, Sergey Bubka, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Yaping Deng, Marcel Desailly, Kapil Dev, David Douillet, Emerson Fittipaldi, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Cathy Freeman, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mika Häkkinen, Tony Hawk, Mike Horn, Miguel Indurain, Michael Johnson, Kip Keino, Franz Klammer, Dan Marino, John McEnroe, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Nawal El Moutawakel, Robby Naish, Ilie Nastase, Martina Navratilova, Alexey Nemov, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Vivian Richards, Monica Seles, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson, Alberto Tomba, Steve Waugh and Katarina Witt.