FIA President Jean Todt and Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg presented Paralympian Vanessa Low with the inaugural Keep Fighting Award on Monday at Europe's largest sports business congress, SPOBIS.
The award is part of an initiative set up by the family of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, following his skiing accident 2013.
Low, a Rio Paralympics Gold medal winner, was chosen by the Schumacher family because she "embodies and conveys the values that this prize wants to promote: to never give up and; despite setbacks to positively shape the future".
Low lost both her legs in an accident at the age of 15 and competes with prosthetic limbs. She set a World Record in the long jump at Rio to win gold and won silver in the 100 metre sprint, setting a personal best in the process.
"I admire the Schumacher family for their courageous step," commented Low. "I am completely behind the values that this Award represents and I am very happy to help spread them. I was very surprised on first learning I was the winner, I am very proud I have been selected and I would like to thank them for it."
The Keep Fighting Award is the first action of the Keep Fighting initiative, which was recently launched by the Schumacher family for charitable purposes.
"With this initiative, Michael's family would like to return some of the positive energy they receive from his wonderful fans, through a range of charitable projects," explained Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm.
