LAUSANNE, January 1, 2008 – Tennis greats Roger Federer and Justine Henin have been voted the world’s top sporting champions, and Italian Serie A football side A.C. Milan was voted Team of the Year by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). It is the third year in a row at the top of the poll for Swiss tennis legend and World No 1, Federer.
AIPS members from 94 nations voted in this year’s poll placing Federer overwhelmingly in the number one place beating Brazilian footballer Kakà (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite) who plays for Italian Serie A team A.C. Milan and won this year’s Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
100 metre world record holder, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell followed in third place.
World No 1 and 2007 French and US Open winner Justine Henin who is currently preparing for the Australian Open Tournament beat Swedish athletics star Carolina Klüft who has not lost a single heptathlon or pentathlon event since 2002 and Croatian World Champion high jumper Blanka Vlasic for the AIPS top female honour.
2007 Champions League trophy holders A.C. Milan were voted Team of the Year, followed by 2007 Rugby World Cup winners South Africa and Formula One Team Ferrari.
The best press facility of 2007 according to the AIPS membership was the Media Centre at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan. Following not far behind were the press facilities at Wimbledon and the 15th Asian Games Press Centre in Doha, Qatar.
Below is the list of AIPS member nations whose members voted in the 2007 poll.
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ALBANIA |
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ALGERIA |
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ANGOLA |
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ARGENTINA
ARMENIA |
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AUSTRALIA |
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AUSTRIA |
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AZERBAIJAN |
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BANGLADESH |
|
BELARUS |
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BELGIUM |
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BENIN
BOLIVIA |
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BRAZIL |
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BULGARIA |
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BURUNDI |
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CANADA |
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CHILE |
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CHINA |
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COLOMBIA |
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CROATIA |
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CUBA |
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CYPRUS |
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CZECH REPUBLIC |
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DENMARK
DR. CONGO |
|
ECUADOR |
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ESTONIA |
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FINLAND |
|
FRANCE |
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GAMBIA |
|
GEORGIA |
|
GERMANY |
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GHANA |
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GREAT BRITAIN |
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GREECE |
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GUINEA |
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HONG KONG |
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HUNGARY |
|
ICELAND |
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INDIA |
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INDONESIA |
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IRAN |
|
IRELAND |
|
ISRAEL |
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ITALY |
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JAPAN |
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KENYA |
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KOREA |
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KUWAIT |
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LATVIA |
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LEBANON |
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LIBYA |
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LIECHTENSTEIN |
|
LITHUANIA |
|
LUXEMBOURG |
|
MALTA |
|
MAURITANIA |
|
MEXICO |
|
MOLDOVA |
|
MONGOLIA |
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MONTENEGRO |
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MOROCCO |
|
NEPAL |
|
NETHERLANDS |
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NICARAGUA |
|
NIGERIA |
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NORWAY |
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PAKISTAN |
|
PERU |
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POLAND |
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PORTUGAL |
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QATAR |
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ROMANIA |
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RUSSIA |
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SAN MARINO |
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SENEGAL |
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SERBIA |
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SLOVAK REPUBLIC |
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SLOVENIA |
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SOUTH AFRICA |
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SWAZILAND |
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SWEDEN |
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SWITZERLAND |
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TANZANIA |
|
TOGO |
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TURKEY |
|
UGANDA |
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UKRAINE |
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES |
|
URUGUAY |
|
USA |
|
YEMEN |
|
ZIMBABWE |