Monday, October 30, 2000

In a ceremony at the Prime Minister's Official Residence Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori presented Naoko Takahashi with the People's Honor Award for her achievement at the Olympic Games in Sydney last month, when she won the gold medal in the women's marathon--the first Olympic gold medal won by a Japanese woman in field athletics. Takahashi was the fifteenth person to receive the award since its institution in 1977. In presenting the award the Prime Minister extolled her feat, saying, "Your unflagging effort and earnest application, and your smiling face as you crossed the finish line in a marathon attracting the world's elite, moved and encouraged all Japanese, and young people in particular."