Award jury & Executive committee

Katarína Ráczová is a former elite fencer who represented the former Czechoslovak Republic at three Olympic Games. She is a Universiade gold medallist, a silver medallist at the World Championships, and a 13-time consecutive national champion. She also achieved multiple victories at World and European Cup tournaments.

She studied Pharmacy at Comenius University in Bratislava.

After retiring from competition, she devoted herself to coaching, sports administration, and the promotion of ethics and fair play. She served on commissions of the European Fencing Confederation. Since 2000, she has been a member of the Executive Committee of the European Fair Play Movement. She is one of the founders and the current President of the Club Fair Play of the Slovak Olympic & Sports Committee (SOSC), an SOSC Honorary Member, and a member of its Foundation Board.

Her notable initiatives include inclusive youth and educational projects such as Coubertin Academy for Sport, Nothing is Impossible, Sunshine, as well as international projects including 100 Days for Fair Play and the Spirit of Fair Play international photo contest. On her initiative, the Foundation of the SOSC, in cooperation with the Club Fair Play, annually announces the “Sport is a Chance” grant programme, aimed at supporting projects that highlight the social and educational role of sport.

Katarína Ráczová regularly lectures, publishes educational materials, and participates in school-based programmes promoting Olympic values, ethics, and fair play. She is widely recognised for her lifelong commitment to justice, equality, and education through sport.

She is the recipient of numerous national and international honours, including:

• World Fair Play Trophy of the Comité International Fair Play
• Diploma for Long-Term Fair Sports Performance of the Comité International Fair Play
• Diploma of the International Olympic Committee for a remarkable contribution, as a volunteer, to the development of sport and Olympism and to the promotion of friendship and solidarity among peoples
• Women and Sport Achievement Diploma of the International Olympic Committee
• Member of the Hall of Fame of the International Fencing Federation
• Golden Olympic Rings of the Slovak Olympic Committee for a remarkable contribution to the development of sport and Olympism