AMMAN –– The annual Black Iris Sports Media Awards honouring the Kingdom’s athletes were announced on Tuesday in a special ceremony organised by the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) and held under the patronage of HRH Prince Feisal, president of the JOC.
The ceremony, attended by HRH Prince Raad, was a result of the voting by members of the local sports media who gave their voice to nine athletes based on their achievements during the 2013 season.
The voting was followed by the public through the JOC Facebook page and website which attracted more than 130,000 votes with more than 600,000 social media interactions recorded.
Football player Musab Lahham, who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Najran, was named Best Sportsman of 2013 after a heated competition with National team goalkeeper Amer Shafee.
Wihdat player Tariq Khattab was voted Best Junior Sportsman.
Best Sportswoman title went to Rula Khalid, who won three gold medals at the Arab Championships in Qatar in weightlifting, and Riham Abu Ghazaleh, who won silver for Karate at the World Junior Championships, won the Best Junior Sportswoman title.
Meanwhile, winner of Beirut Marathon Ali Sawalmeh was named Best Paralympic Athlete, beating Alaa Aqrabawi, who won a silver medal in the Asian Paralympic Games in Kuala Lumpur, and world weightlifting champion Motaz Junaidi.
The Black Iris Sports Media Award was created in 2006 to recognise sporting excellence in Jordan.
