Scott's View: Veterans Advantage Board Member Donna de Varona Receives International Sports Award

Veterans Advantage Advisory Board member Donna de Varona was recently honored in Lausanne Switzerland for her lifetime's work supporting the spirit of sports worldwide.

Donna, currently a member of the International Olympic Committee's Women and Sport Commission, received the Power of Sport award from the International Sports Press Association, which is known internationally as the AIPS.

In receiving the AIPS award, its President Gianni Merlo praised Donna for her tireless and constant work for gender equality and athletes' rights.

"I have known Donna a very long time and have always admired her passion, not only for her work as a broadcaster and sports journalist, but her deep commitment to making the world a better place for athletes, especially women," the president said.

A two-time gold medalist swimmer just four years after her ground breaking entry into Olympic competition at 13 years of age, Donna was only 17 when she appeared on ABC's Wide World of Sports, becoming the youngest and one of the first women sportscasters for a national network.

"I consider that to be my biggest achievement," she said. "I had to break down boundaries to make the transition from an Olympic champion to the broader world of journalism. Journalism is not a job, it is a way of life."

Donna also took the lead in 1972, with the establishment of Title IX of the Equal Education Amendments Act, which legislatively opened up opportunities for women to gain athletics and sports scholarships, as well as entry into all aspects of education without the limitation of quotas.

Here she is after receiving her award, with IOC President Dr. Jacques Rogge.