Schumacher wins Prince of Asturias sports prize

MADRID (AFP) — Germany's seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was on Wednesday awarded one of Spain's highest honours, the Prince of Asturias prize for sports, organizers said.

Schumacher, 38, was chosen because his record "had turned him into a sports legend and the racer who has won the most trophies in the history of the sport" as well as for his charity work, said the jury that awards the sports prize.

"His generosity with the poor has transcended the borders of his country, a fact which was taken into account by the jury," it added in a statement.

Schumacher gave 1.15 million euros (1.56 million US dollars) to UN cultural organization UNESCO in 2005 and 10 million US dollars one year later to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in southeast Asia, the jury noted.

After winning two championships with Benetton, Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996 where he won five consecutive drivers' titles with them. He retired last year but occasionally still works for his former Ferrari team.

Schumacher beat 17 other candidates for the prize, including Iraq's national football team, which won the Asian Cup for the first time in history earlier this year, and a joint candidacy by tennis aces Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Former winners of the award include seven-times Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong of the United States and Moroccan middle distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj who holds the world record for the 1,500-metre race.

It was awarded last year to Spain's national basketball team.

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe is the patron of the Asturias foundation which annually hands out eight awards -- each worth 50,000 euros (68,000 US dollars) -- in fields ranging from sports to science and literature.


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