Ailing (Eileen) Gu and Hwang Dae-heon crowned best athletes of Beijing 2022 at ANOC Awards
Dutch speed skating legend Sven Kramer was also celebrated for his outstanding sport career at the annual ANOC Gala Awards held in Seoul.
Months after her history-making performance, freestyle skier Ailing (Eileen) Gu continues to grab headlines.
Gu, who became the first action-sports athlete to win three medals at the same Olympics at Beijing 2022 was on Wednesday, October 19, named the best performing female athlete of the Games at the 2022 Association of National Olympic Committees, ANOC, Awards in Seoul.
The Chinese freestyle skier was one of the most dominant athletes, winning a gold medal in the Big Air competition, another gold medal in the Halfpipe event, and taking silver in Slopestyle.
READ MORE: Ailing (Eileen) Gu relishing new beginnings
Short track speed skater Hwan Dae Heon of South Korea, who claimed the first gold medal at the last Winter Olympics, won the ANOC Award for the best male performance of the Games.
Legendary Dutch athlete Sven Kramer who competed in his fifth Games in Beijing and is the most decorated male Olympic speed skater of all time with nine medals, earned the ANOC Award for outstanding sport career.
“I am really proud to receive this award, feeling blessed to be here. When I was still speed skating I never had time for events like this as I was always focussed on events and performance,” Krumer, 36, who now handles the management and business support of his former team Jumbo-Visma, told the Olympic Channel in Seoul.
“But now it’s time to look back and be really proud of what I did in the past for speed skating.”
READ MORE: Speed skating: Sven Kramer - top facts you did not know about speed skating legend Sven Kramer
The Swedish team, who overcame Great Britain in a long and thrilling men's Olympic curling final, took the trophy for the best male team performance, while Team Canada winners of the hockey gold after edging out the USA 3-2, won the best female team award.
Lindsay Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner winners of the inaugural snowboard cross mixed team title were celebrated as the best mixed team performance of the Games.
The Chinese Olympic Committee received the award for the outstanding NOC of Beijing 2022 as Craig Reedie, the former chairman of British Olympic Association and a former president of the World Anti-Doping Association was honoured for his contribution to the Olympic Movement.
The ANOC Awards have been held every year since 2014, and seeks to recognise and honour the achievements of the NOCs and their athletes, decided by the ANOC jury.
ANOC Awards 2022 award winners:
- Sven Kramer - ANOC Award Outstanding Sporting Career
- Sweden Male Curling Team (Daniel Wilhelm Magnusson) - Best Male Team Performance of Beijing 2022
- Ailing (Eileen) Gu - Best Female Performance of Beijing 2022
- Hwang Dae-Heon - Best Male Performance of Beijing 2022
- Lindsay Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner - Best Mixed Team Performance of Beijing 2022
- Canada Female Ice Hockey Team (Ann-Renée Desbiens) - Best Female Team Performance of Beijing 2022
- Craig Reedie - ANOC Outstanding Contribution to the Olympic Movement
- People's Republic of China - Most Outstanding Performance of an NOC
