Projo Running Blog

Ironman.com posted this release on its recent Emmy award, which was dedicated to Seekonk native Jon "Blazeman" Blais who is currently battling Lou Gehrig's Disease:

The 2006 Ford Ironman World Championship broadcast, taped on location in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on October 21, 2006, received an Emmy Award at Monday night’s 28th Annual Sports Emmy Awards Ceremony. With a fifth win in the category of Outstanding Edited Sports Special, one of the highest honors, Ironman has now captured 14 Emmy awards to date.

“Ironman is full of inspirational stories, but there is one particular story I wish to share with you tonight. In 2005, an athlete suffering from ALS completed the Ford Ironman World Championship and that athlete returned to Hawaii in 2006 in a wheelchair as a spectator. Tonight, Ironman athlete, Jon Blais is fighting for his life. I’d like to dedicate this year’s Emmy to the Blazeman and his family,” said Ironman’s Executive Television Producer, Peter Henning, during his speech Monday night.

The 2006 Ford Ironman World Championship broadcast aired on December 9 and will re-air later this year on Sunday, August 5, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. The show highlighted a variety of athletes who demonstrate the Ironman mantra, “Anything Is Possible,” including Captain David Rozelle, a below-the-knee amputee who returned to active duty, David Samson, President of the Florida Marlins Major League Baseball Team and Sister Madonna Buder, the oldest female finisher of the Ford Ironman World Championship.

The Sports Emmy Award recipients were chosen by a Blue Ribbon Panel of their peers from over 700 entries in 30 categories. The awards recognize outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast throughout the 2006 calendar year. NBC, the network that has been airing the Ironman World Championship since 1992, won a total of nine Emmys in 2006.

For a complete list of Emmy winners, visit www.emmyonline.org.

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