Rome 28 April – As part of the celebrations for the 2764 anniversary of the foundation of the city of Rome, mayor Gianni Alemanno has awarded the annual “She Wolf” prize, the citys celebrated symbol, to the NOCs of Israel and Palestine for the way they have tried to follow the “Sport for Peace” road map in the attempt to prepare their athletes for London 2012.

The delegation sent by the Israeli NOC was composed of president Zvi Varshaviak and secretary general Efraim Zinger, who is also a member of the EOC executive committee; the Palestinian NOC was represented by president Jibril Rajoub and head of international relations Khaled El-Yajzi.

Their candidature had been put forward by IOC vice president Mario Pescante, who is also chair of the IOC international relations commission, with the support of CONI president Giovanni Petrucci and secretary general Raffaele Pagnozzi.

The prize, which is given every year to personalities who promote peace, was this year awarded during the “Sport for Peace” concert at the Rome Auditorium, in the presence of numerous sports and political personalities, joined by numerous Olympians, among them Novella Calligaris (swimming) and Antonio Rossi (canoe-kayak).