Fernando Alonso Prince of Asturias Award for Sports 2005

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2005 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, made up of D. Pedro Barthe Céspedes, D. José Ángel de la Casa, D. José María Casanovas, D. Juan Antonio Corbalán, D. José María Echevarría y Arteche, D.ª María Escario, D. José María Forte, D. Julián García Candau, D. Daniel Gutiérrez Granda, D. Miguel Induráin, D. Luis Infante, D.ª María del Carmen Izquierdo, D. Jaime Lissavetzky Díez, D. Javier Muñoz Gallego, D. Matías Prats, D. Nemesio Rodríguez López, D. Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, D. José Javier Santos, D. Iñaki Urdangarín, duke of Palma, D. José Luis Vilaseca i Guasch, D.ª Emma Villacieros, chaired by D. Juan Antonio Samaranch, marquis of Samaranch, and with D. Ignacio Martínez as secretary, has decided to bestow the 2005 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports on the Spanish racing driver Fernando Alonso.

Alonso has succeeded in reaching the pinnacle of his sport after years of self-sacrifice and hardship. Supported only by his family, at the outset of this career, today he is a example to the youth of Spain and the world in general, for his ongoing career is the outcome of an unshakeable desire to make it to the top.

Fernando Alonso, a UNICEF ambassador, belongs to the realms of those unique champions who manage to open up new horizons in specialised fields of the utmost difficulty. This has already made him a figurehead and a benchmark with an ability to thrill millions of people.

Oviedo, 6th September 2005