Al-Sabah praises Thailand's organisation of ANOC general assembly
The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) president Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah praised Thailand for the successful organisation of its XIX General Assembly, which concluded yesterday.
The Kuwaiti, who was re-elected as the ANOC chief on Friday, complimented the hospitality, especially the first ANOC Gala Awards Dinner held at the Centara Grand Hotel in CentralWorld on Friday evening.
“I would like to thank the Thai government and the Olympic Committee of Thailand for their excellent organisation. The environment was perfect for a General Assembly,” said al-Sabah, who was impressed by the gala event held to present awards for successful athletes at the 2012 Olympic and 2014 Winter Olympics as well as to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) with outstanding achievements.
The sheikh, according to ANOC vice president Patrick Hickey, had insisted that the event should be held in Thailand despite the unstable political situation earlier this year.
Olympic Committee of Thailand (OCT) secretary-general Charouck Arirachakaran believes the Kingdom has regained its positive image from the organisation of the event, which received appreciation from representatives of 204 NOCs.
“After the event, many NOC delegates, as well as the sheikh himself, complimented us for the successful organisation of the event. This will help boost the country’s reputation in many parts of the world,” said the OCT executive.
Reports on the progress of the organisation of several Games, including the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, were presented during yesterday’s meeting. Charouck said Brazil is on track despite earlier concerns about the slow progress of construction work.
“Representatives from the International Olympic Committee have been sent to the host city to make sure everything is going according to the plan. I’ve seen a lot of progress from their presentation,” Charouck said.
Regarding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games preparation, executive director of Sports and International Relations Aki Murasato said efforts are being made to ensure the success of the Games, from July 24 to August 9, 2020. “It will be compact and efficient with competition venues within eight kilometres radius or just 20 minutes by transport,” Murasato said.
Following is the full list of winners in all categories.
ANOC Certificate for Breakthrough NOC at London 2012: Bahrain NOC, Botswana NOC, Cyprus NOC, Gabonais NOC, Grenada NOC, Guatemalteco NOC, Montenegrin NOC
ANOC Award for Most Successful NOC at 2012: US NOC
ANOC Award for Best Female Athlete at London 2012: Brazil’s volleyball team
ANOC Award for Best Male Athlete of London 2012: France’s handball team
ANOC Award for Best Female Team Member at London 2012: China’s Xiaoxia Li (table tennis)
ANOC Award for Best Male Team member at London 2012: Kenya’s David Rudisha (athletics)
ANOC Award for Most Successful NOC in 2014: Russian NOC
ANOC Award for Best Female Athlete at Sochi 2014: Canada’s ice hockey team
ANOC Award for Best Male Athlete at Sochi 2014: Canada’s ice hockey team
ANOC Award for Best Female Team Member at Sochi 2014: Netherlands’ Ireen Wurst (speed skating)
ANOC Award for Best Male Team Member at Sochi 2014: Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (biathlon)
ANOC Award for Outstanding Performance: Russia’s Larisa Latynina (gymnastics)
ANOC Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement: Belgium’s Jacques Rogge
