The IOC offers the following Video News Release to all news agencies, broadcasters and online news platforms free of charge. STORY HEADLINE: IOC REVEALS 2019 WOMEN AND SPORT AWARD WINNERS AT CEREMONY CELEBRATING GENDER EQUALITY AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT DATE: 19 March 2019 LOCATION: New York City, USA LANGUAGE: English, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, French, Arabic, Croatian. Broadcast quality footage available at the IOC Newsroom: http://iocnewsroom.com 2019 IOC WOMEN AND SPORT AWARDS - WORLD TROPHY WINNER Ms Po Chun Liu (Chinese Taipei) CONTINENTAL TROPHY WINNERS Africa: Ms Djatougbe ‘Nathalie’ Noameshie (Togo) Americas: Comisión Mujer y deporte de Costa Rica (Costa Rica) Asia: Ms Saada Al-Ismaili (Oman) Europe: Ms Morana Palikovic Gruden (Croatia) Oceania: Vanuatu Volleyball Federation (Vanuatu) STORY SCRIPT: The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Women and Sport Awards 2019 have been held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA. The IOC has celebrated six role models and change-makers in advancing women and girls in and through sport, in partnership with UN Women. The IOC Women and Sport Trophy represents opportunity, recognition and empowerment. There were six awards - one global and five continental winners, all recognised at the ceremony attended by IOC President Thomas Bach that included powerful speeches from key women across the sporting world.  UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Olympian and renowned Brazilian footballer Marta Vieira da Silva, gave an emotional address as she reminded attendees of the pledge for gender equality by 2030. International baseball umpire from Chinese Taipei Ms Po Chun Liu was awarded the World Trophy for her staunch advocacy for female empowerment through sport. Throughout her sporting journey, she has refused to allow gender discrimination stand in the way. It’s not been an easy road. But her determination saw her go from volunteer in Little League to becoming the first female baseball umpire in her native Chinese Taipei. With a boost from the New York Yankees, the figure known as ‘the Mother of Women’s baseball’ in Chinese Taipei has gone on to umpire internationally in World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Tournaments and made Forbes’ 2018 list of the Most Powerful Women in International Sports. A passionate social worker, Liu works relentlessly to create opportunities for girls and women to get involved in sport, either in leadership or on the field of play by organising baseball clinics, workshops and international games in her home country. Her objective: to “strike out gender discrimination”. Accepting her award, she said: “I believe you all understand how difficult it is for women to take a leader’s position. We cannot be good, we have to be much better.” As well as President Bach attendees at the Awards included UN Women Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, NBC sportcaster Andrea Joyce, IOC Women and Sport Commission Chair Lydia Nsekera, and Olympians and gender equality advocates, Kikkan Randall, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, and Donna De Varona.