Bach acknowledged the great work carried out by the organizing committee headed by Tony Estanguet, as well as the authorities of the French government, in particular President Emmanuel Macron, who he said carried out tireless work to support the success of the realization of this edition under the five rings.
The IOC president was accompanied by Estanguet and five stars representing each continent: French judoka Teddy Riner, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge, Chinese table tennis player Sun Yingsha, Australian swimmer Emma McKeon and Cuban wrestler Mijaín López, as well as boxer Cindy Ngamba, from the Olympic refugee team.
Estanguet thanked all those involved in the organization and support work during the Games, the security and police forces, firefighters, volunteers and in general all the participants and fans.
Bach awarded the prize in advance, during this ceremony, to the winner of the women’s marathon, Dutch Sifan Hassan, who set an Olympic record (2:22:55 hours) and the silver and bronze medallists, the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa (2:22:58) and the Kenyan Hellen Obiri (2:23:10). Finally, he thanked Paris and France and cheered the Games and the host nation.
The closing ceremony continues at the Stade de France, located in Saint Denis, on the north-eastern outskirts of the French capital, where Paris will hand over the Olympic flag to the American city of Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Games.
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