SPORT & SOCIETY
Sri Chinmoy Awarded a Prize For His Campaign for World Peace
“A sound mind in a sound body”
Sports, peace among people and the ‘psychophysical’ health of the individual can be joined together well. Sri Chinmoy, who has resided in New York for more than 30 years, is the witness. At the end of March, on the invitation of Francesco Rutelli (Mayor of Rome), Umberto Silvestri (President of the Rome Marathon), and Allan Steinfeld (Director of the New York City Marathon), he participated, on the occasion of the Rome Marathon, which traverses the historic centre of the ‘City of the Caesars’, in a ceremony dedicated precisely to peace.
Sri Chinmoy received the ‘Fred Lebow Award’ in recognition of his constant efforts for world peace and his constant activities for the benefit of the inner and outer health of millions of people. The award, bears the name of the founder of the New York City Marathon [Fred Lebow] and was given to him by Rutelli himself.
Last year, Pope John Paul II received, at the Vatican, Sri Chinmoy and thousands of people who were participating in the ‘Peace Run’. The Pope was given a torch, and the Holy Father, using the torch to make the sign of the Cross in the air, solemnly blessed the athletes, who were carrying "through the streets of the world" a message eminently Christian.
The ‘Sri Chinmoy Peace Run’, the longest relay run in history, was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987. Today the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team sponsors more than 500 athletic competitions annually in about 50 countries, all inspired by the ancient Roman principle of “a sound mind in a sound body.”
Caption:
In the photo — Sri Chinmoy receives the ‘Fred Lebow Award’, on the occasion of the Rome Marathon. From left to right: Mico Licastro, NYC Marathon Director Allan Steinfeld, Sri Chinmoy, and Rome Marathon President Umberto Silvestri. Pulak Viscardi photo.
Published in the Italian-language daily newspaper America Oggi (AmericaToday) in Westwood, New Jersey on Sunday, May 19, 1996