ANOC GALA AWARDS DINNER: A “SPECTACULAR CELEBRATION OF SPORT AND WORLD CULTURE”
ANOC President praises unity of Olympic Movement at festival of sporting achievement
Bangkok; 07 November 2014: The first ANOC Gala Awards Dinner closed in spectacular fashion this evening as ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah praised NOCs, athletes and all the Olympic family for the outstanding contribution they make to the Olympic Movement.
The exceptional achievements of NOCs and the world’s best athletes from London 2012 and Sochi 2014 were officially recognised for the first time during an evening which showcased the power of sport to bring cultures together and promote unity and solidarity. The first ANOC Gala Awards Dinner is the only event of its kind and honours the exceptional achievements of NOCs and athletes across all sports from all over the world.
Performers from each of the world’s five continents performed traditional dance and music routines to commemorate the global nature of the event – which was broadcast to more than 25 broadcasters around the world, with a potential worldwide reach of 350 million.
The deserving winners in the first year of the ANOC Awards were:
- Breakthrough NOC at London 2012:
- Bahrain Olympic Committee
- Botswana National Olympic Committee
- Cyprus National Olympic Committee
- Comité Olympique Gabonais
- Grenada Olympic Committee
- Comité Olímpico Guatemalteco
- Montenegrin Olympic Committee
- Most Successful NOC of London 2012: United States Olympic Committee (Scott Blackmun)
- Best Female Team of London 2012: Team Brazil Volleyball (Fabiana Marcelino Claudino)
- Best Male Team of London 2012: Team France Handball (Daouda Karaboué)
- Best Female Athlete of London 2012: Xiaoxia Li
- Best Male Athlete of London 2012: David Rudisha
- Most Successful NOC of Sochi 2014: Russian Olympic Committee (Alexander Zhukov)
- Best Female Team of Sochi 2014: Team Canada Ice Hockey (Caroline Ouellette)
- Best Male Team of Sochi 2014: Team Canada Ice Hockey (Bob Nicholson)
- Best Female athlete at Sochi 2014: Ireen Wüst
- Best Male Athlete of Sochi 2014: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen
- Outstanding Performance: Larisa Latynina
- Outstanding Lifetime Achievement: Jacques Rogge
ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al–Fahad Al–Sabah said:
“Our first ever ANOC Gala Awards Dinner tonight was a spectacular celebration of sport and world culture .There is no other event in the world which recognises the hard work of National Olympic Committees. ANOC is absolutely committed to supporting NOC best practice and celebrating the successes of our Olympic family. Under the leadership of the IOC, ANOC is collaborating with the IFs, SportAccord and all Olympic stakeholders for the benefit of the entire Olympic Movement.”
“Tonight we have all relived the best of London 2012 and Sochi 2014 but we have also lived our own piece of history. Congratulations to all of the deserving winners and thank you to everyone involved for making the first ever ANOC Gala Awards such a special night.”
Sheikh Ahmad revealed that the ANOC Gala Awards Dinner will become a regular event in the Olympic calendar with each future Games due to have its own Awards ceremony.
