The first ISPO Cup went to Birger Ruud (*1911; † 13 June 1998) from Norway in 1971. The trophy holder was a legendary ski jumper and ski racer - he was considered one of the world's best ski jumpers of the 1930s. In 1932 and 1936 he won Olympic gold in the large hill jumping competition. He also set two hill records and became world champion five times.
The German professional footballer Fritz Walter (*1920; † June 17th 2002) was awarded with the ISPO Cup in 1974 (right side of the picture). 20 years earlier he led the German team to the historic World Cup title. He was the first national player to be appointed honorary captain.
Max Schmeling (*1905; † February 2nd 2005) who is still considered one of the most popular sportsmen in Germany today, was awarded with the ISPO Cup in 1972. The German heavyweight boxer held the world championship title from 1930 to 1932. Schmeling's boxing match statistics were 56 wins in 70 professional fights.
On 27 February 1982 the Czechoslovakian athlete Emil Zatopek (*1922; † November 21st 2000) became a a Cup holder (on the right side of the picture). The runner set numerous world records between 1949 and 1955. In 1948 he won Olympic gold in the 10,000-metre competition in London and in 1952 he won three Olympic gold medals in Helsinki.
In 1983 the exceptional Brazilian footballer Pelé (at the podium) was the Cup Winner of the year. He is described by many as the best player of all time. By the end of his football career in 1977, he had scored well over 1250 goals. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted him the sportsman of the past century.
In 1985 Austria's probably most famous ski racer Toni Sailer (*1935 † 24. August 2009) received the ISPO Cup. Toni Sailer (to the right) was not only the bearer of three Olympic gold medals, he also won at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina D'Ampezzo and in addition seven World Champion titles. He also worked as an actor and singer. The premium sports brand "Toni Sailer" founded in 2004, is named after him.
Jean-Claude Killy, ski racer from France, was awarded with the ISPO Cup in 1986. In the picture he is (2nd from left) in conversation with the former head of the tradeshow Dr. Werner Marzin, Toni Sailer (3rd from left) and Willy Bogner (4th from left). The "Ski Napoleon", how he was called at that time, dominated ski racings in the 1960s. In Grenoble in 1968 he won for example a total of three Olympic gold medals in downhill, giant slalom and slalom category.
In the year 1987 the ISPO Cup went to the US athlete and three-time Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph (*1940; † 1994/in the middle of the picture). In 1960 the sprinter also made history as the first woman in the world to cover 200 metres in under 23 seconds. One year later she set another world record with 11.2 seconds over 100 meters. She established the Wilma-Rudolph-Foundation which supports young female athletes.
Reinhold Messner (on the left) from South Tyrolean, who turned 75 in 2019, received the ISPO trophy in 1989. Reinhold Messner is one of the most famous mountaineers in the world and has changed the style of high altitude mountaineering. In 1978, together with Peter Habeler, he was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest without oxygen bottles. From 1970 to 1986 he also climbed 14 eight-thousanders. Many more extreme peaks followed.
Franz Klammer (centre) from Austria became famous as a ski racer and earned the ISPO Cup in 1992. With 25 downhill victories, he went down in World Cup history as the most successful downhill skier at the time. Franz also won the gold medal in downhill skiing at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck 1976.
Cycling legend Eddy Merckx (on the left) from Belgium was awarded with the ISPO Cup in 1993. He is regarded as the most successful cyclist of all time. The "Mémoire du Cyclisme" page lists a total of 525 road wins, 98 track wins and two cross-country wins between 1966 and 1978. In 1977 he ended his career as an athlete and built up a company under his name that manufactures racing bikes.
In 1998 Henry Maske (centre) received the trophy from Manfred Wutzlhofer (left), at this time Chairman of the Board of Messe München, for his exceptional and fair sporting successes as a professional boxer. Henry was IBF world champion in light heavyweight from March 1993. In 1996 he defended this title.
2002: Ingemar Stenmark was a Swedish ski racer from 1973 to 1989. The two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion and three-time winner of the overall World Cup is considered one of the most successful alpine ski racers since 1967. He won 86 World Cups till this day, nobody challenged him. In the picture he is holding the ISPO Cup with Manfred Wutzlhofer (l.), who was then head of the tradeshow. Also present (from left to right): Hans Spitzner, former State Secretary of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, the former 2nd Mayor of Munich Gertraud Burkert and Karin Stoiber.
In 2012 Willy Bogner was awarded the ISPO trophy for his life's work. Bogner was one of the best German ski racers in the 60s and won five German championship titles, among others. With the sports film "Fire + Ice" (1986) he also became known as a filmmaker. The film was awarded with the Bavarian and the German movie arward "Bambi". In 1977 Willy Bogner took over the premium clothing company of his father Willy Bogner Senior. Till today this company equips the German team at the Olympic Winter Games.
2013: Base jumper Felix Baumgartner (right) jumped out of the stratosphere at the end of 2012. At this time the highest parachute jump over 38,900 metres. Additional record: 36.400 meters free fall. Klaus Dittrich, Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München GmbH, awarded the ISPO trophy to the extreme sportsman the following year.
2014: David Lega (left) from Sweden has set a total of 14 world records as a Paralympic swimmer. He has been in politics since 2011, first as Mayor of Gothenburg and now as a Member of the European Parliament. The ISPO trophy was presented to him by Klaus Dittrich, Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München (right).
In 2018 the 93-year-old Gertrude "Gert" Boyle (*1924,†3 November 2019) was honored for her life's work. She was the daughter of Columbia company founder Paul Lamfrom who founded the company in Oregon, USA after his escape from Germany in 1937. Later "Gert" took over the brand and radically restructured it. The picture shows Boyle's son, Tim Boyle (in the centre of the picture), who represented his mother in the tribute, as well as Flori Schuster, CEO Sporthaus Schuster (left) and Klaus Dittrich, Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München GmbH (right).
The Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen has had an ISPO trophy since 2019. The biathlon legend competed in the last competition in December 2018. Among other things, he looks back on eight gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games and numerous overall World Cup victories. He is considered the most successful biathlete in history.
The award-winning athletes of the past decades come from all disciplines of the international sports world. All prize winners have one thing in common: great, fair sport and their passion for it with which they made sporting history.
Sporting greats such as world century sportsman Fritz Walter, one of the protagonists in the movie "Miracle of Bern". Or Sepp Bradl, who was the first person to jump over 100 metres on skis, as well as tennis legend Gottfried von Cramm, football emperor Franz Beckenbauer, the Chinese ex-articulated gymnast and today's entrepreneur Li-Ning or even the multiple Olympic champion Katharina Witt are among the honoured.
In 2020, the exceptional Kenyan long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe will receive the award for outstanding personalities in the world of sports: in the festive setting of the VIP dinner at the ICM Munich, where the "Who's Who" of the sports industry meets.
ISPO.com shows further cup winners from international sport from the 1970s until today.
