Monday 8 January 2024
It was not just one but two Danish elite athletes who were honored on Saturday evening with Toyota’s Nothing is Impossible award at the annual sports show, Sport 2023, in Boxen in Herning. The winner was the men’s doubles in badminton, Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, who thus secured the honorable award ahead of the other two nominees, paracyclist Emma Lund and boxer Nikolai Terteryan.
“It has been a magical 2023, with World Cup silver at home in the Royal Arena as the greatest. Nothing is impossible – the award is like the icing on the cake after our best year ever. We are happy and grateful for the recognition that lies in the award, and for so many to follow along on our journey, which is not over yet,” says Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, with a hidden allusion to the Olympics that await this summer.
Before then, they face other big tasks with the Malaysia Open next up here in January. Therefore, the winning couple could not be present at the sports show in Herning on Saturday evening either, as they traveled to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia immediately after the New Year to prepare for the big tournament. Instead, they were surprised by a TV team at the airport in Copenhagen, who could convey the big news to them on top of a hectic season which, in addition to World Cup silver, has also featured final victories in the French Open, European Games, Canada Open, Hong Kong Open and Arctic Open.
Against all odds
The hard-working partner couple over 10 years have shown with the many victories and successes in the season that, despite their sportingly advanced ages of 31 and 34 respectively, as well as the fact that Anders Skaarup Rasmussen has two small children, and that Kim Astrup was in the late summer father for the first time, against all odds they have performed better than ever before. That was the main reason why they ran with the Nothing is Impossible award.
Toyota, DIF and Team Denmark stand behind the award, which is given to an elite athlete or team that has defied all odds, done the impossible and fought extraordinarily hard and persistently to make a mark at the top of their sport. This characterizes both the award-winning men’s doubles as well as the other two nominees for the award.
“All three nominees are very worthy candidates. Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, despite both their sporting advanced age and happy family additions, have had a phenomenal season, inspired many and thereby shown that no matter how many years you chase success and great results, and where impossible it looks, then nothing is impossible,” says press manager Anders Tystrup at Toyota Danmark A/S.
Role models for all athletes
At DIF, big congratulations are sent towards the successful men’s doubles.
“Congratulations to Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen with Toyota’s Nothing is Impossible award. Kim and Anders are great role models for not just badminton players, but for all athletes who dream big. The doubles pair shows that it is never too late to achieve big wins. Kim and Anders have played together for a number of years, but it is only after they have both turned 30 and become fathers that their careers really hit the peak. I look forward to continuing to follow their development. Nothing is impossible,” says Morten Mølholm Hansen, who is managing director of DIF and a member of the award’s judging committee.
The praise for the badminton partner pair is also great from Team Denmark.
“Kim and Anders are crystal clear proof of how a dedicated and persistent effort pays off. Throughout their careers, they have made wise choices and worked extremely hard to break through to the top of the world without losing themselves along the way. That is why their story is deeply inspiring just within the elite sport but also in a wider context. They show that it is possible to become some of the best in the world through a long tough move, where you do your best every day for many years and never give up – even if you meet defeat and adversity along the way,” says Peter Fabrin, CEO, Team Denmark.
As winners of Nothing is Impossible, Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen receive the DKK 75,000 prize from Toyota. It is the sixth time that the Nothing Impossible prize has been awarded. A year ago, the award went to the sprinter Ida Karstoft, who won EC bronze in athletics at 200 meters in 2022, despite the fact that she only changed her career as a professional soccer player to athletics at a relatively advanced age.
Other previous winners have been ice hockey player Lars Eller in 2018, wrestler Rajbek Bisultanov in 2019, swimmer Jeanette Ottesen in 2020 and table tennis player Anders Lind in 2021.
Toyota supports Danish elite athletes
In addition to being behind the Nothing is Impossible award together with DIF and Team Denmark, the mobility group Toyota is a top global Olympic and Paralympic partner and supports e.g. Danish elite athletes on their way towards the impossible. As part of this, Toyota has gathered six Danish elite sportspeople – including three paraathletes – on Team Toyota. They are all chasing their individual impossible, which could be to qualify for the Olympic or Paralympic Games and maybe even to win a medal for Denmark at the same place.
With the sports prize, Toyota wants to inspire the Danes through sport and put even more focus on pursuing the impossible. Toyota is already pursuing its own impossible, which is to ensure that no people in the future will be limited in their mobility. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, in the coming years, Toyota will make sure to develop sustainable mobility products and services that enable everyone to move around freely, regardless of whether you are young or old or have a disability or not.
2024-01-08 17:48:29
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