Alain Billouin, 2011 Journalist Lifetime achievement award winner (© Philippe Fitte)
The IAAF is delighted to confirm that France’s Alain Billouin is this year’s recipient of the IAAF World Journalist Award. The award was presented by IAAF President Lamine Diack in Monaco this Saturday (12) at a press conference held prior to the World Athletics Gala.
The IAAF World Journalist Award, which was created on the recommendation of the IAAF Press Commission, that the IAAF should mark outstanding lifetime contributions in the field of athletics journalism, was inaugurated in 2009 with the honouring of the career of Germany’s Gustav Schwenk, with Atsushi Hoshino of Japan the recipient last year.
Alain Billouin as a journalist specialised in athletics for 33 years at L'Equipe. He was the head of the Olympic Sports group and the "leader" of the athletics section, and covered all the major events from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games to the IAAF World Championships in Seville 1999.
Billouin, is a former Vice-President of the Athletics Commission of the AIPS and Member of the IAAF Press Commission (1992-2007), and was IAAF Press Delegate at the World Race Walking Cup, Torino 2002.
A prolific author of some twenty books on athletics, Billouin is the co-author with Robert Parienté of the last edition of "La fabuleuse histoire de l'athlétisme," THE reference book on athletics history.
Other notable titles include "Périls sur les Jeux Olympiques", "100 Dieux du stade" and "Les exploits de l'athlétisme français", as well as the biographies of Michel Jazy (L'ange de la piste) and Colette Besson (Flamme éternelle). He also compiled the "Livre d'or de l'athlétisme" every year from 1978 to 1984.
Billouin has been honoured with the IOC Award at Sportel in Monaco for "Les Déesses du Sport" with Henri Charpentier and Serge Laget, and has been the recipient of numerous other media awards:
Prix des Ecrivains Sportifs (Sports Writers Award) for "Patinage" in 1989
Prix Roger Debaye in 1995
Médaille d'Or de l'Académie des Sports (Gold Medal of the Sports Academy) in 1998
Chevalier dans l'Ordre du Mérite National in 2000 (La Jeunesse et des Sports)
Iris d'Honneur du Fair-Play (CNOSF – French Olympic Committee) in 2004 with Henri Charpentier for "Périls sur les Jeux Olympiques"
Plus Bel Ouvrage Sportif Illustré (Best Illustrated Sports Book) in 2007
IAAF