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County Sports Commission Names Fairfield Student Courage Award Winner

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Giacomo Brancato, a junior at Fairfield Warde High School, was named on Tuesday as the recipient of the 2015 Chelsea Cohen Courage Award by the Fairfield County Sports Commission.

Giacomo Brancato of Fairfield Warde High School has been named the winner of the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award by the Fairfield County Sports Commission.

Giacomo Brancato of Fairfield Warde High School has been named the winner of the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award by the Fairfield County Sports Commission.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Brancato, a two-sport standout, was diagnosed at the end of last year with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma -- a cancer of the lymph tissue in the autoimmune system.

He will be honored at the Commission's 11th annual Sports Night awards dinner Monday, Oct. 19 at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich at 6 p.m.

The Fairfield County Sports Commission created the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award in 2006. It is named after the late Chelsea Cohen, a former Norwalk High soccer star who was the Commission’s first Courage Award recipient and passed away in 2006 after a bout with a rare form of cancer of the nervous system. The award recognizes the person in the sports community who has shown inspirational strength in battling life-altering obstacles.

Brancato, a junior who plays for the Warde boys basketball and baseball team, was able to play both sports during his cancer treatment. The Fairfield community has rallied around him with t-shirts bearing Brancato’s name and uniform numbers along with the slogan “Undefeatable”.

From 2008-2014, the Courage Award was sponsored by the Forever Young Foundation, the charitable entity of former Greenwich native and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. Forever Young's support in sponsoring the Courage Award helped the Commission grow its Chelsea Cohen Fitness Academy, the county-wide umbrella it created in 2010 to support its efforts to promote an active, healthy lifestyle for area youth.

Nicole Graham, a cancer survivor and two-sport standout at Greenwich High, won the award last year.

For ticket information, click here to visit the Fairfield County Sports Commission website.

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