Vitali Klitschko received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage
21.07.2022
Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko became a laureate of the prestigious Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, presented annually by the ESPY Awards committee. The award ceremony took place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, USA.
“It is a great honor for me to receive this award. I am convinced that this is a recognition of the courage and inviolability of the Ukrainian people, who have been bravely resisting the Russian aggressor for more than 3 months. This is an award for everyone who defends the independence and freedom of Ukraine. Ukrainians have shown that they will not kneel. We will withstand and win!”, Vitali Klitschko commented on his award.
He also thanked all partners and friends who help and support Ukraine.
American actor Dwayne Johnson received the award on behalf of Klitschko, who is in Kyiv and could not attend the ceremony.
During the event, the organizers showed a short documentary about Vitali Klitschko.
Since 1993, the Arthur Ashe Award has been presented annually by the American sports channel ESPN (since 2017 – the ABC television network) as part of the ESPY Awards, a prestigious award ceremony for athletes. The Arthur Ashe Award is given to athletes who possess strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost. In 1997, Muhammad Ali received it, in 2003 – football player Patrick Tillman, who died during a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, in 2009 – Nelson Mandela.