THE Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) gave the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) the Breakthrough NOC Award for winning its first Olympic gold medal through weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in the Tokyo Games in July.
The ANOC Awards ceremony was held in Heraklion, Greece, on Sunday, with POC President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino attended the event online.
“The POC is honored to receive this award from the ANOC. It’s been almost a century or after 22 Olympics that we finally won our first Olympic gold medal,” said Tolentino, lauding Diaz, silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam and bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial for their feat in Tokyo.
“This award is not only for the POC, but for the entire country and the 15 other Filipino athletes who gallantly competed in the Tokyo Olympics,” Tolentino said.
Hidilyn Diaz delivers for the Philippines
The ANOC Awards were held for the first time in Bangkok in 2014 and have been held every year since then to recognize and honor the achievements of the NOCs and their athletes as well as distinguished members of the Olympic Family.
Also receiving the award for winning their first Olympic gold medals were Bermuda (women’s triathlon) and Qatar (weightlifting). Burkina Faso, San Marino and Turkmenistan were also recognized for clinching their first ever medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, Greek Culture and Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis and representatives from the IOC, NOCs, international federations and other Olympic stakeholders attended the awards.
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