Sotomayor and El Motawakel at tribute by AIPS

Havana, August 24 (RHC) - The legendary Javier Sotomayor and Nawal El Moutawakel were honored at a tribute by the International Association of Sports Journalists (AIPS) to a group of outstanding journalists in the coverage of the World Athletics Championships.

Sotomayor, world record holder in the high jump, and Nawal El Moutawakel, the first African to win Olympic gold in the 400m hurdles, graced the "Journalists on the Podium" event, held at the Casa Italia located in Budapest's Ludwig Museum.

Javier Sotomayor, whose world record of 2.45m has stood for 35 years, considered that today there are, above all, two athletes who can break his record.

"Today there are athletes capable of doing it, but above all two, one of them is Gianmarco Tamberi, Olympic champion and recent world champion in Budapest, and the other is Qatar's Mutaz Barshim," said the best high jumper in history.

The high jump legend who has held the world record since July 27, 1993.

In the activity, chaired by the head of AIPS, the Italian Gianni Merlo, 63 exceptional journalists who have covered for their media 10 or more world championships of the so-called king sport were honored.

"It is an honor to welcome each of you here, because without your tireless efforts, the world of sport cannot function. Today it is an honor for me to witness your well-deserved recognition at Casa Italia," said Stefano Mei, president of the Italian Athletics Federation, highlighting the indispensable role of journalists.