Yoo Seung-min, President of the Korean Olympic Committee: "This AG had many regrets regarding on-site conditions and operations... I was deeply saddened." Special medals to be produced and awarded to athletes and coaches

*This content was translated by AI.

Yoo Seung-min, President of the Korean Olympic Committee, has prepared special support and award measures for athletes and coaches who participated in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Summer Asian Games to acknowledge their hard work.

The Korean Olympic Committee decided to separately produce and award medals identical in specifications to actual medals to preliminary and candidate athletes who competed in team events, including swimming at this tournament, but could not receive medals due to competition regulations.

This initiative aims to honor the efforts of athletes who contributed to their teams' advancement to finals and medal wins in team preliminaries but were not included in the final roster and thus did not receive medals.

Additionally, special 'Asian Games Participation Commemorative Medals' will be presented to all representative team athletes and coaches who competed fiercely but unfortunately failed to win medals. Regardless of whether they won a medal, this is intended to encourage the hard work of athletes who participated in the AHan Min-guk-eul (CEO)Games and boost their pride as national representatives.

Medals will also be awarded to coaches leading the athletes. For sports where medals were won, 'Coach Medals' with colors (gold, silver, bronze) identical to those of the athletes' medals will be specially produced for head coaches and coaches of those events. This is to officially honor the dedication of coaches behind the glory of the medals.

Rewards for the achievements of athletes and coaches will also be implemented. One tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP), selected through media votes covering the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Summer Asian Games, will receive a prize of 30 million won.

In addition, after separate evaluations, awards will be presented in three categories (each with a 10 million won prize): 'Performance Development Award' for athletes showing outstanding growth and skill improvement; 'Fight Spirit Award' for athletes who overcame injuries and limitations to deliver inspiration; and 'Coach Leadership Award' for coaches who led their teams with exceptional leadership and coaching skills, achieving remarkable results and inspiring others.

Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) stated, "In all international multi-sport events such as the Olympics and Asian Games, athletes must always come first, followed by coaches who have sweated alongside them." He added, "Athletes should be able to focus solely on competition in the most comfortable and safe environment possible. However, this tournament had many regrets regarding on-site conditions and operations, which caused deep sadness."

He continued, "Regardless of whether medals were won, the efforts of athletes and coaches who poured everything into the AHan Min-guk-eul (CEO)Games deserve full recognition in themselves." He concluded, "I hope these support measures and awards will bring satisfaction and motivation to the team. Moving forward, we will continue to listen to voices on the ground and provide comprehensive support for athletes and coaches."

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*This content was translated by AI.