Star-studded Lineup of Olympians Gather for ANOC Awards

(ATR)Some of the biggest names of both past and modern Olympic Games are wrapping up their time in Washington D.C. following the ANOC Awards 2015 gala.

The awards gala was staged at theThe event took place late Thursday night in the backdrop of the 2015 ANOC General Assembly, which will conclude on Friday. The ceremony was staged at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall.

Organizers rolled out the blue carpet for Olympic leaders and athletes. IOC president Thomas Bach, U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, IOC member Sergey Bubka, and U.S. Olympians Katie Ledecky and Ryan Lochte posed for pictures and gave a preview of the night's events.

"As we sit through a couple of days of important meetings, it's nice to be reminded on why we're really here," said Blackmun,

"Tonight does exactly that, it focuses our attention on the athletes, everything that they're trying to do with their great performances and more importantly on the immense effort they need to make in order to be successful," he added.

Bach echoed Blackmun's sentiments, emphasizing the need to honor the great athletic performances from the continental championships of the past year.

"The athletes are at the heart of the Olympic movement so they get the recognition they deserve. And they get it twice, first after the event on the podium when they receive their medals and tonight in a pretty different atmosphere."

U.S. Olympic swimmers Ryan Lochte and Katie Ledecky were honored to be able to recognize these performances.

"It's a wonderful thing, any chance you can give recognition to another athlete just for all that hard work and dedication they've put into their own sport so just recognizing that is pretty amazing," said Lochte.

"It's very important, I know all of the athletes are excited to be here so it should be really a good event to be recognized at," Ledecky added.

Franck Elemba of the Republic of the Congo and Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Cote d'Ivoire were the first athletes presented with awards.Both received respective honors for "Best Male and Female of African Games 2015."

"I'm very excited, this makes me happy because it is the first award I've ever won in my life," Ta Lou tells Around the Rings. Ta Lou was recognized for her two gold medals at the All-Africa Games in the 100m and 200m.

Receiving individual ANOC awards for "Best Male and Female of Pan American Games 2015" were Brazilian swimmerThiago Pereira and U.S. shooter Kim Rhode. Rhode reflected on the importance of gathering all of the NOCs and stakeholders of the Olympic Movement in the United States for the first time in 20 years.

"It's a great opportunity to make those connections and build bonds so they'll cross over to other things.I know that in Los Angeles we have a bid for the 2024 Olympics and that's something very near and dear to my heart being from L.A. So there's some pushing going on and hopefully we can secure that so well see what happens," said Rhode.

Qatari athletics star Seun Ogunode and Chinese gymnast Yao Jinnan won the awards for "Best Male and Female of Asian Games 2014." Ogunode said he would keep this award in plain sight at his house.

"I'm going to put it beside my TV because this is my first award, it just means so much to me."

Azerbaijani wrestler Togrul Asgarov and Irish boxing star Katie Taylor received ANOC awards for "Best Male and Female of European Games 2015." Taylor is now looking forward to the opportunity to qualify for Rio 2016 at the AIBA women's boxing world championships in Kazakhstan next May.

Ryan Pini of Papua New Guinea and boxer Jennifer Chieng of the Federated States of Micronesia were honored as "Best Male and Female of Pacific Games 2015." Chieng tells ATRthis recognition adds to people's expectations of her while also giving her more motivation.

"It definitely adds pressure to continue with the momentum and to be able to perform again at that same level they're expecting me to perform at. There's definitely a lot of pressure but I'm super motivated, more than ever."

Thomas Bach, Olympian Bob Beamon, and outgoing International Tennis Federation president Francesco Ricci Bitti rounded out the award winners at the gala.

Bach won the ANOC award for "Contribution to the Olympic Movement," Beamon was honored with the award for "Outstanding Performance," and Ricci Bitti received the award for "Outstanding Lifetime Achievement."

Ricci Bitti tells ATR he hopes to continue to contribute to the Olympic Movement.

"It means a lot, it's a great recognition to the longevity [of his career]. I hope I'm not finished completely and I'm still very active. I stepped down as president of the tennis federation after 16 years, perhaps this is the reason for the lifetime award. I did my best."

Presenters for the ANOC Awards 2015 gala included:Four-time Olympic medalist Ato Boldon; pole vault champion Sergey Bubka; swimmers Kirsty Coventry, Katie Ledecky, and Ryan Lochte; and wind surfer Barbara Kendall.

Written byNicole Bennettand Kevin Nutley

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