The award is presented to an individual in any amateur or professional sport, past or present, who has "excelled as a contributor to both sport and society over at least a decade".

De Varona was presented the award at the US Olympic Committee’s New York City offices.

At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, she won gold medals in the women’s 400 metres individual medley and as a member of the US 4x100m freestyle relay team.

Between 1960 and 1964 de Varona broke 18 swimming world records and by age 17 she was voted the Most Outstanding Female Athlete by both the Associated Press and the United Press International.

Despite her success in the pool, de Varona retired from professional swimming following Tokyo 1964 after she was unable to obtain a college scholarship for swimming due to a lack of athletic opportunities for women at the time.

She went on to graduate in political science at the University of California Los Angeles.

De Varona was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honour Swimmer" in 1969.

The co-founder of the Women’s Sports Foundation and its first President, de Varona has been an influential figure in the world of sport.

She has served five terms on the US President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and was a pivotal force behind the passage of the "Title IX" legislation, which barred sexual discrimination in any education programme or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Since then, the 69-year-old has been involved in numerous programmes to support the expansion of women’s sports.

De Varona was influential in the passage of the the 1978 Amateur Sports Act, which restructured how Olympic sports are governed in the US.

She also helped with the establishment and funding for both the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

From 1997 to 1999, de Varona chaired the Organising Committee for the Women's FIFA World Cup in America and was on the 1999 Sports Illustrated for Women's  “100 Greatest Athletes” list.

Now, de Varona serves on the executive board of Special Olympics International and is a member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Women and Sports Commission, as well as the US Department of State's Empowerment of Girls and Women through Sports Council.

An Emmy Award nomination was given to de Varona for "Keepers of the Flame" a televised special on the Olympics, while she also won the Gracie Award twice for her Sporting News radio show "Donna de Varona on Sports".

In 1991 she claimed an Emmy Award for her coverage of an athlete competing in the Special Olympics.

De Varona served as the late night host for the 1984 Olympics and anchored the Los Angeles Olympics synchronised swimming and women's swimming events alongside Jim Lampley.

In 2000, when de Varona covered her 12th Olympic Games, the IOC presented her with the Olympic Order, its highest award.