The American Alpine Club presented Anatoli Boukreev with the David A. Sowles Memorial Award in 1997. The medal honors those “who have distinguished themselves, with altruistic commitment at personal risk or sacrifice of a major aim, in going to the aid of fellow climbers endangered in the mountains.”
Boukreev was a Russian climber who died in 1994 while attempting to climb Mount Everest. He was only 35 years old.
The award was created in memory of David A. Sowles, who died on August 1, 1995 when he fell while climbing in the Canadian Rockies. He was 34 years old.
Boukreev and Sowles both worked as mountain guides for International Climbing & Skiing Company (U.S.A.). They were well-known among other things for their successful attempts to climb K2, the second highest peak in Pakistan. In 1992, they became the first people to climb into the eight-thousanders - mountains over 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) high - including Mt. Everest.
Boukreev had already successfully climbed several eight-thousanders when he went to attempt to reach the top of Everest. On May 1, 1994, just four months after Sowles died, Boukreev disappeared during an attempt to climb the world’s highest mountain. His body was found two months later near where he had fallen.
Only Alwin Schockemohle, 39, was able to win gold with two perfect rounds. The next three riders in line got 12 penalties each and had to jump off for silver and bronze. After strong rain, the Nations Cup was held in the Olympic Stadium in front of 55,000 fans, despite a heated discussion about moving it to Bromont. It is estimated that the audience saw more than one million shots being fired.
Alwin Schockemöhle won his second gold medal four years later in Montreal with another perfect round. He was only the third person after Günter Vogler and Peter Stetina to do this. His coach claimed that only five people on earth were capable of shooting such accurate shots.
After these two successes, Schockemöhle decided to retire from competition to focus on his job as a sports shooter. He worked as a police officer in Munich until 1989.
Schockemöhle died at the age of 54 in an accident while skiing in Austria. No one else was injured in the incident. Police suspect that he hit a tree branch and was killed instantly.
He has been buried in Munich since.
Alwin Schockemöhle was born on January 4th, 1958 in München-Gladbach (Germany). His father was a judge and his mother was a dentist.
Iginla received the Art Ross Trophy (most regular season points), the Maurice Richard Trophy (most regular season goals), and the Lester B. Pearson Award (formerly the Ted Lindsay Award) for the most valuable player in 2001-02. He was the first African-American player to win all three trophies. The other finalists for the Pearson Award were Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks, and Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres.
The Jari Jerome Memorial Trophy is given annually to the best rookie in the NHL. Iginla was a two-time winner of this award, having won it in 2001-02 and 2002-03. The other nominees each year were Pavol Demitra of the Calgary Flames and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Iginla was also a two-time winner of the King Clancy Trophy, which is awarded “to the player who has the greatest influence on promoting safety in the hockey community”. He received this award in 2001-02 and again in 2003-04. The other players nominated for these prizes each year were Denis Savard and Peter Forsberg with the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens respectively.
The J. Robert O’Connor Jr. Player Development Award is given by the National Hockey League’s Central Division to an assistant coach for his contribution to building a successful team through training camps and pre-season games. Iginla was awarded this prize in 2001-02.
Al Boum Photo (167 and 168) has won less Cheltenham Gold Cups than Best Mate did in his first two, yet the strength of those races, as measured by Timeform ratings of the top three finishers, has been ordinary at best. That is no doubt due in part to the fact that neither of these races now offers a prize worth winning.
The most recent win came in 1969 when Best Mate was trained by John Porter who also trained the famous Black Jack Davison. It was the fourth victory for Al Boum. The most successful trainer with two victories is Paul Nicholls with four wins.
Al Boum is one of only three horses to have won the Gold Cup twice (the other two are Prince Charles and Golden Miller). He did it in 1967 and again in 1969. His owner/breeder/trainer Peter Nott said at the time that it was “a great thrill for us all”.
The Gold Cup is run over 1 mile 2 furlongs 521 yards at Cheltenham Racecourse. It is considered one of the most difficult races to win because of its distance and terrain. The course is full of holes and trenches and there are several sharp bends. The race usually takes place in late March or early April and it is open to three-year-olds and above.
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