Olympic and Paralympic medallists will receive a rank in one of two national orders from several sporting legends on Saturday.
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Olympic and Paralympic medalists will be decorated during the Champions Parade. They will receive a rank in one of the two national orders, the Legion of Honor or the National Order of Merit, on Saturday, September 14 at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, franceinfo learned Friday from the Élysée and the Ministry of Sports.
In detail, those who won their first medal, silver or bronze, will be appointed to the rank of knight of the National Order of Merit. Those who won their first Olympic or Paralympic gold medal will be appointed to the rank of knight of the Legion of Honor. Athletes who have won a new gold medal may be promoted to the rank of officer of the Legion of Honor. A multi-gold medalist athlete will be promoted to the rank of commander of the National Order of Merit. According to information from franceinfo, this is the triple Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner.
For this event, Emmanuel Macron – who will decorate several athletes – wished “a strong gesture of transmission between generations of athletes”indicate these same sources. According to information from franceinfo, among the athletes present to present the decorations, there will be the former Olympic champion judoka Lucie Decosse; Jean-Philippe Gatien, double Olympic medalist in table tennis; Michaël Jeremiasz, Olympic medalist in wheelchair tennis; Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France; Youri Djorkaeff, 1998 world champion in football; Souleymane Cissokho, former bronze medalist in boxing; former gymnast Yann Cucherat and Laura Flessel, former Minister of Sports and multiple Olympic medalist in épée.
In total, 187 athletes will be decorated with the Legion of Honor or the National Order of Merit. 120 of them will be present on Saturday at the Champions Parade. At the same time, 10,000 people will parade, including 1,200 volunteers and 460 athletes.