Seven gold medal winners from the Nagano Winter Olympic Games received the Emperor's Cup on Monday from Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in a ceremony held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
The recipients of the silver pairs of cups were: Kazuyoshi Funaki for team ski jumping and large-hill jumping, Masahiko Harada, Hiroya Saito and Takanobu Okabe, also for team ski jumping, Tae Satoya for winning the women's moguls, Hiroyasu Shimizu, victor in the men's 500-meter speedskating event, and Takafumi Nishitani, the men's 500-meter champion in short-track speedskating.
Some 39 other athletes were given watches as keepsakes by the prime minister. In a congratulatory speech, Hashimoto praised the medalists' performances, which he said deeply impressed the people of Japan.
Representing the athletes, speedskater Shimizu expressed their gratitude toward those who supported them. "We think that we were able to win thanks to the people who supported us. We will make more efforts to improve our performances," Shimizu said.
After a subsequent party, attended by the athletes and Hashimoto and other high-ranking government officials, including Education Minister Nobutaka Machimura, Hashimoto told reporters it was wonderful to talk with young people who have done their best to achieve their goals.