The South Korean government is to award International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach with the country’s highest sporting honor for his role in helping make the Pyeongchang Winter Games a success, the sports ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry added that no date had been set yet for Bach to receive the Cheongryong (blue dragon) Medal, Reuters reported.
Pyeongchang brought the curtain down on Asia’s first Winter Games outside Japan on Feb. 25. Despite issues such as a norovirus outbreak and extreme temperatures in the first week of the competition, organizers were widely praised for running a polished event.
Other former recipients of the Cheongryong honor include 2010 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Kim Yuna and Dutchman Guus Hiddink, who coached the Korean national soccer team to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup.
Pyeongchang 2018 was a major multi-sport event held from February 9-25 in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea.
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