The exercise has become a ritual. Always expected, sometimes surprising. The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) took advantage of its annual general assembly, held this week in Cascais, Portugal, to roll out the red carpet, turn on the spotlights and award its trophies. As it was an Olympic year, they distinguished the best athletes and teams of the Paris 2024 Games. It was not easy to choose. But on Wednesday, October 30, the body opted for something new. Among the individual athletes, it celebrated two sprinters who had brought their respective countries the first gold medal in their history: Julien Alfred (100 m) for Saint Lucia (photo above), and Leslie Tebogo (200 m) for Botswana. Nothing to complain about. For the rest, the ANOC trophy list rather favours Europe, with the victories of the Italian women's volleyball team and the Danish men's handball team in the team sports category, the success of Great Britain in track cycling in that of the best women's team in an individual sport, and finally the trophy awarded to the Austrians Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mähr, specialists in the Dinghy (sailing), in the category of the best mixed team in an individual sport. Japan saved the honour of Asia by being rewarded for its men's gymnastics team. A special trophy was awarded, for their entire career, to the Chinese table tennis player Ma Long and the New Zealand kayaker Lisa Carrington. The French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) was called on stage to receive the trophy for the outstanding NOC. The NOCs of Saint Lucia, Dominica, Guatemala and Botswana were honoured for their " breakthrough » very noticed at the Paris 2024 Games. Finally, ANOC distinguished the American Anita DeFrantz for her contribution to the Olympic movement.
