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<h1 align="center">Dr. Savio L-Y. Woo Wins 1998 IOC Olympic Prize</h1>
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<td><a href="gold.htm"><img src="images/medal.JPG" align="right" hspace="0" width="490" height="290"></a></td>
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<td valign="top" align="center"><font size="2"><em>The first Olympic Gold medal to be
presented at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.</em></font></td>
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<h4 align="left"><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman">The New Year has brought a unique
and exciting honor to ORLAC. Our Dr. Woo has been awarded the International Olympic
Committee&#146;s 1998 Olympic Gold Medal for Sports Science, endowed by Parke-Davis, in
recognition of his untiring contributions to the science of sports medicine. ORLAC is
proud to celebrate this exciting news with its members and to share a description of this
top honor in sports medicine as well as Dr. and Mrs. Woo&#146;s trip to the XVIII Winter
Olympics in Nagano, Japan.</font></h4>
<h4><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman">The Olympic Prize, established by the
International Olympic Committee Medical Commission and endowed by Parke-Davis, was
inaugurated in 1996 at the XXVII Summer Olympiad in Atlanta, GA. The recipient of this
award receives a Certificate of Excellence, a prize of $250,000, and for the first time,
an Olympic Gold Medal. This award honors outstanding scientific research related to human
movement, physical exercise and sport and is bestowed upon a researcher who significantly
impacts the science of sports medicine for the betterment of human kind. The selection
committee, chaired by Dr. Benno Nigg, is comprised of a diversity of prestigious members
from the biological, medical, physical, and psychological sciences, including cell
biologist and Nobel laureate Dr. Christian de Duve. </font></h4>
<h4><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman">This outstanding jury has recognized our
in-depth investigation of the complex function of articular soft tissue, which has
provided significant scientific data to drive advancements in surgical treatment of
ligament injuries. They have also recognized our long history of groundbreaking work in
sports medicine as well as our novel and numerous contributions to understanding both
joint biomechanics and principles of rehabilitation. </font></h4>
<h4><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman">On January 13, 1998, Dr. Woo travelled to New
York for the formal announcement of this great honor. That morning, together with Olympian
and orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Eric Heiden, Dr. Woo was interviewed by representatives of
television and print media. Later, in the evening, he received the prize of $250,000 at a
grand black-tie ceremony in his honor at the Waldorf»Astoria Hotel. Both S.E. Juan
Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee, and Prince Alexandre
de Merode, Chairman of the IOC Medical Commission, were present to honor Dr. Woo&#146;s
contributions. </font></h4>
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<td valign="top" align="center"><font size="2" face="Palatino,Times New Roman"><em>Three
generations of family celebrate this auspicious occasion.</em></font></td>
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<h4><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman">The evening began with a formal cocktail
reception at which the gold medal was displayed before it was to be brought to Japan. The
party then moved to the banquet hall where the formal program began. After entertainment
by a Broadway group, Mr. Anthony Wild, the President of Parke-Davis, spoke about his
company&#146;s commitment to the Olympic Movement and the IOC Olympic Prize. Dr. Eric
Heiden then spoke about his personal motivation to advance the science of sports medicine.
President Samaranch commented about the Olympic Movement and the importance of the IOC
Olympic prize. Prince Alexandre de Merode enlightened the audience about the creation and
the goal of the IOC Olympic Prize prior to revealing Dr. Woo as this year&#146;s winner.
Before Dr. Woo was invited to the podium, a video was shown summarizing his work. Mr. LJR
de Vink, the Chief Operating Officer of Warner-Lambert, concluded by commending the
partnership with IOC and wishing the athletes success in Nagano. The attendees then
enjoyed a delicious five course dinner.</font></h4>
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<td><p align="center"><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman"><img src="images/Woo's%20and%20previous%20winners.JPG" align="left" width="400" height="250"></font></td>
<td valign="top" align="left" height="406" width="554" rowspan="2"><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman"><h4>After the exciting day in New York, news of Dr.
Woo&#146;s award reached the print and broadcast media as well as on the world wide web.
If you visit the archives of <a href="http://www.annonline.com/">www.annonline.com</a>,
you will find that Ann Devlin, an on-line talk show host, interviewed Dr. Woo on January
14, 1998. In addition, Dr. Woo was on the front cover of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and
featured in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, USA Today, The New York Times and the
Associated Press. He also received coverage in Pittsburgh neighborhood papers including
The North Hills News Record, the Herald, and the Valley News Dispatch, as well as
university papers including the Pitt News, the University Times and the UPMC Health System
EXTRA!. News of Dr. Woo&#146;s award even reached China&#146;s World Journal! You may have
also seen Dr. Woo on CNN, Pittsburgh&#146;s local affiliates WPGH-TV (FOX), WPXI-TV (NBC),
and KDKA-TV (CBS), as well as dozens of other stations around the country. In addition, he
is scheduled to appear on CBS during the Olympics.</h4>
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<td valign="top" align="center" height="134" width="400"><p align="center"><font size="2"><em>Drs.
Paffenbarger and Morris, previous recipients of the IOC Prize with Dr. and Mrs. Woo.</em></font><img src="images/Dr.%20Woo%20&amp;%20Dr.%20Nigg.JPG" width="384" height="275" alt="Dr. Woo &amp; Dr. Nigg.JPG (40107 bytes)" align="bottom"></td>
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<td width="412" valign="top" height="30" align="left"><p align="center"><font size="2"><em>Dr.
Woo with Dr. Benno Nigg, Chairman of the selection committe of the IOC Olympic Prize.</em></font></td>
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<td width="677" height="296" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left"><h4><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman">On January 30, 1998, Dr. and Mrs. Woo will travel to
Nagano, Japan as guests of the International Olympic Committee, to attend the <a href="http://www.nagano.olympic.org/home_e.html">XVIII Winter Olympic Games</a>. On
February 2, before the 107th Opening Ceremonies of the Olympiad, Dr. Woo will receive the
Nagano Game&#146;s first Gold Medal, a special Olympic Medal designed for this prestigious
award by Swiss artist Hans Erni. The medal features an active athlete inside the head of a
scientist, symbolic of the relationship between the sports scientist and the athlete. The
reverse side will be engraved with Dr. Woo&#146;s name, the five Olympic rings,
Nagano&#146;s national symbol of a blossom tree as well as the inscription, &#147;Nagano
1998.&#148; Dr. Woo receives not only the first Olympic medal of the 1998 games, but the
only Olympic medal given to a non-Olympic athlete.</font></h4>
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<td height="40" width="290" valign="top" align="left"><p align="left"><font size="2"><em>Dr.
and Mrs. Woo at the black-tie gala.</em></font></td>
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<td width="414" height="270" valign="bottom" align="left"><h4><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman"><img src="images/Faculty.JPG" align="bottom" width="400" height="270"></font></h4>
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<td width="553" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" height="277"><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman"><h4>Dr. Woo is excited and proud that the combined
dedication, effort, and ingenuity of all ORLAC members over the past 28 years have
culminated in such high international esteem and is now receiving such superior
recognition. Dr. Woo says that we can all take pride in such a vast accomplishment and the
national and international renown we will receive. Dr. and Mrs. Woo plan to donate the
award money to several nonprofit research and educational institutions, such as ORLAC,
which educate young investigators. They believe that through their contribution, future
generations of investigators can advance the fields of biomechanics, sports medicine, and
rehabilitation to an even higher level of excellence!</h4>
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<td valign="top" align="center" width="414" height="20"><font size="2"><em>Drs. Glen
Livesay, Lars Gilbertson, Rich Debski, Jun-Kyo Suh, Ken Fischer, and Guoan Li with Dr.
Savio L-Y. Woo and the Olympic Gold medal at the Waldorf»Astoria Hotel.</em></font></td>
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<h4><font face="Palatino,Times New Roman">We at ORLAC are proud of the work that has been
accomplished both in the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory (OBL) in San Diego and at
the Musculoskeletal Research Center (MSRC) in Pittsburgh, as well as the related
laboratories that have begun as a result of the many alumni that have passed through the
OBL and MSRC. We would like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Woo and thank him for the
leadership and guidance he has provided us through all these years. He has enriched and
nurtured our research, and without Dr. Woo, none of us would be where we are today.
Congratulations again, Dr. Woo!</font></h4>
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