(ATR) Thomas Bach received a high honor during his visit to Seoul on Wednesday.
During a visit to World Taekwondo Federation headquarters in Seoul, the IOC president was made an honorary 10th Dan black belt in taekwondo.
Federation president Chungwon Choue gave out the honor for the support he has given to taekwondo.
Bach smashed a board with a punch during the ceremony while dressed in a taekwondo uniform.
"There have only been three people in the world awarded the 10th Dan - former IOC presidents Juan Antonio Samaranch and Jacques Rogge as well as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon," said Choue.
"The belt is reserved for individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of sport and promotion of peace and harmony around the world."
Following the ceremony, a roundtable discussion took place between Bach, Choue, PyeongChang 2018 co-comm chair Gunilla Lindberg, IOC director general Christophe de Kepper, taekwondo secretary general Hoss Rafaty and several others.
The stop was part of a brief stop in South Korea for Bach during which he met with the country’s president Geun-hye Park to discuss preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
IAAF Launches Fantasy Game for Beijing Champs
The athletics federation has launched a fantasy game for those following the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
IAAF’s Fantasy World Championships will allow fans to predict which athletes will win, just as they have been able to for individual Diamond League meets throughout the season.
Each fan picks a team of nine athletes, including a team captain. Scores depend on where those athletes finish and whether they set world, area or championship records. Team captains score double.
The top overall finisher in the game wins a trip for two to Monaco for the International Athletics Foundation Gala in November.
Table Tennis Picks Lisbon for Awards
The 2015 ITTF Star Awards are heading to Portugal.
Lisbon will host the event on December 9. It’s the third edition of the federation’s year-end awards ceremony.
The Patio de Gale will be the site of the event, held just prior to the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.
"The ITTF Star Awards has grown into a yearly event with great stature and an important date on the calendar for all of the world’s top table tennis players," said ITTF marketing director Steve Dainton.
Eight awards will be handed out, including male and female table tennis star, para male and female star, and breakthrough star.
Written by Nick Devlin
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