Olympic Golden Rings award winners unveiled in front of 1,000 guests in Lausanne

Lausanne’s Salle Métropole played host to a ceremony on the eve of the 125^th anniversary of the IOC and the inauguration of its Olympic House. The ceremony attracted close to 1,000 guests to the red carpet, including IOC Members, members of the Council of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), International Sports Federations and representatives from the rights-holding broadcasters. More than 70 Olympic champions and medallists who, all together, have won more than 125 medals at the Olympic Games, were amongst them. Kristina Vogel, Darya Domracheva, Abhinav Bindra, Fernando González, Katarina Witt, James Tomkins, Felix Gottwald, Shelley Rudman, Vladislav Tretiak, Kirsty Coventry, Nadia Comaneci and Yuna Kim handed over the trophies for the gold trophy winners.

The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 awards spanned 10 categories in total: Best Olympic Feature, Best Athlete Profile, Best On-Air Promotion, Best Olympic Digital Service, Best Olympic Programme, Best Documentary Film, Best Production Design, Best Innovation, Best Social Media Content/Production and Most Sustainable Operation. There was also the first-ever Olympic Golden Rings award for a Youth Olympic Games.

NBC won gold in four categories, namely the Best Olympic Feature, Best Olympic Digital Service, Best Olympic Programme and Best Documentary Film, while Discovery and Eurosport also received a quartet of gold trophies (for Best On-Air Promotion, Best Production Design, Best Innovation and Best Social Media Content/Production).

BBC Sport took home the Most Sustainable Operation and Best Feature at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 awards; and NHK won the Best Athlete Profile category. There was a very strong contribution from rights-holding broadcasters, with over 75 pieces of content submitted across the 11 categories.

IOC President Thomas Bach, who presented the awards for the Best Olympic Programme and the Best Innovation, said: “Broadcasters of the Olympic Games continue to produce innovative and compelling coverage that allows the athletes’ achievements to live on forever. As we gather in Lausanne this week to celebrate the inauguration of Olympic House, the 125^th anniversary of the IOC and the 134^th IOC Session, it is fitting that we honour the broadcasters’ valued contribution in front of the biggest-ever Golden Rings Awards audience.”

Figure skater and Olympic champion Yuna Kim, who presented the Best Olympic Programme award to NBC Sports Group, said:” “I’m personally thrilled to see so many athletes here tonight to relive the magic of their achievements at PyeongChang and Buenos Aires, and commend the excellence in broadcasting of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games.”

Created in 1976, the Olympic Golden Rings is a prestigious international contest through which the IOC seeks to promote and recognise excellence in television broadcasting of the Olympic Games.  The contest is organised every two years on the occasion of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games.

The full list of awards, is as follows:

CATEGORY  – The Best Olympic Feature – Presented by Nadia Comaneci and Gerardo Werthein

GOLD – NBC Sports Group – “Always Start with the Dreams”
Producers: Jim Bell, Mark Levy, Joe Gesue, Rebecca Chatman, Aaron Cohen, Matt Allen, Phil Parrish
SILVER – Globo TV – Brazil uses technology to improve bobsledding team for PyeongChang 2018
Producer: Guilherme Roseguini
BRONZE – BBC Sport – PyeongChang 2018 Opening Sequence
Producer: David Bouchard. VT Editor: Nick Perry

CATEGORY  – The Best Athlete Profile – Presented by Ole Einar Björndalen and Kirsty Coventry 

GOLD – NHK – “Road for Gold” Challenge with absolute unity – Women’s Team Pursuit
Producer: Yohei Ogura. Director: Naoki Nakagawa
SILVER – CBC – The Olympic Journey: Virtue & Moir – Roxanne (Video Sampler)
Producers: Trevor Pilling, Chris Irwin, Giorgio Saturnino, Nathalie Tedesco, Louis Saturnino. Director: Carlos Esteves
BRONZE – NBC Sports Group – Lindsey Vonn & Grandpa Don
Producers: Jim Bell, Mark Levy, Joe Gesue, Rebecca Chatman, Jack Felling, Brian Longenecker

CATEGORY  – The Best On-Air Promotion – Presented by Darya Domracheva and Hong Zhang

GOLD – Discovery / Eurosport – Eurosport PyeongChang Promotion Campaign
Producer: Philippe Oizillon. Director: Guillaume Mouillé
SILVER – NBC Sports Group – Best of U.S.
Producers: Jennifer Storms, Joseph Lee, Don Simon, Andrew Cleghorn, Josh Goldman, Jennie Thompson, Robin Sherman. Director: Paul Hunter
BRONZE – Globo TV – The Winter is Ours! Olympic Winter Games 2018 is on SporTV
Producers: PAV (Produção áudiovisual da Globosat). Director: Gustavo Tissot

CATEGORY  – The Best Olympic Digital Service – Presented by Abhinav Bindra and Gianni Merlo 

GOLD – NBC Sports Group – The XXIII Olympic Winter Games on NBC
Producers: Jim Bell, Eric Black, Rebecca Chatman, Richard Cordella, Peter Diamond, David Gabel, Joe Gesue, Mark Levy, Mike Sheehan, Gary Zenkel. Directors: Eric Hamilton, Netta-Lee Lax
SILVER – Discovery / Eurosport – Eurosport PyeongChang Digital Offer
Producer: Elise Lampaert. Director: Angelique Aubry-Marais
BRONZE – CBC Radio-Canada – CBC Radio-Canada Digital Offering
Producers: Trevor Pilling, Catherine Dupont, Steve Macht, Pierre Michaud, Mihira Lakshman, Mathieu D’Amours

CATEGORY  – The Best Olympic Programme – Presented by Yuna Kim and Thomas Bach 

GOLD – NBC Sports Group – XXIII Olympic Winter Games on NBC
Producers: Jim Bell, Joe Gesue, Rebecca Chatman, Mark Levy, Brittany Hardy, Josh Glaser, Matt Allen, Lee Ann Gschwind. Director: Mike Sheehan.
SILVER – CBC Radio-Canada – CBC Olympic Games Programme
Producers: Trevor Pilling, Catherine Dupont, Luc Lebel, Chris Irwin, Don Peppin, Roxanne Savard, François Messier, Greg Stremlaw
BRONZE – SBS – PyeongChang Tonight – Day 3
Producer & Director: Sung Hoon Lee

CATEGORY  – The Best Documentary Film – Presented by Shelley Rudman and Anant Singh 

GOLD – NBC Sports Group – 1968
Producers: Jim Bell, Mark Levy, Joe Gesue, Rebecca Chatman, Jack Felling, Brian Longenecker, Emilie Mateu, John Howe, Elinore Wright, Slaine Kelly
SILVER – KBS – Making of Olympic Ceremonies
Producer: Bongjin, Kim. Directors: Jisun Youm, Taewoong Lee
BRONZE – BBC Sport – Welcome to PyeongChang
Producer: Producer David Bouchard. Director Ricky Wild

CATEGORY – The Best Production Design – Presented by Felix Gottwald and Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski 

GOLD – Discovery / Eurosport – Eurosport PyeongChang 2018 Look and Feel
Producer: Philippe Oizillon. Director: Guillaume Mouillé
SILVER – BBC Sport – “The Fearless Are Here” – Production design
Producer: BBC Marketing. Director: Pete Andrews
BRONZE – CBC Radio-Canada – CBC / Radio-Canada Production Design Package
Producers: Frydun Mehrzad, Trevor Pilling, Catherine Dupont, Chris Irwin, Luc Lebel. Directors: Theresa Warburton, Lucy Snyder

CATEGORY – The Best Innovation – Presented by Katarina Witt and Thomas Bach

GOLD – Discovery / Eurosport – The Eurosport Cube
Producer: Arnold Montgault. Director: Sophie Bergé
SILVER – NHK – 8K Super Hi-Vision Live Broadcasting
Producer: Satoshi Matsuzaki. Directors: Satsuki Miyahara, Tomoharu Hayakawa, Hisashi Sato, Yoshiki Fukushima
BRONZE – NBC Sports Group – XXIII Olympic Winter Games – Enhanced View
Producers: Jim Bell, Eric Black, Rebecca Chatman, Richard Cordella, Peter Diamond, David Gabel, Joe Gesue, Jack Jackson, Mark Levy, Mike Sheehan, Gary Zenkel. Directors: Eric Hamilton, Zach Graber 

CATEGORY – The Best Social Media Content / Production – Presented by Fernando González and Kate Caithness 

GOLD – Discovery / Eurosport – Eurosport PyeongChang Digital and Social Media Production
Producer: Elise Lampaert. Director: Angelique Aubry-Marais
SILVER – NBC Sports Group – XXIII Olympic Winter Games Social Media Experience on NBC
Producers: Jim Bell, Rebecca Chatman, Peter Diamond, Joe Gesue, Mark Levy, Mike Sheehan, Lyndsay Signor, Jennifer Storms, Gary Zenkel. Directors: Jenna Smoot, Corey Weisz
BRONZE – CBC Radio-Canada – Radio-Canada PyeongChang 2018 Social Media Campaign
Producers: Radio-Canada Communications Department: Véronique Pelletier, Nadine Mathurin 

CATEGORY – The Most Sustainable Operation – Presented by James Tomkins and Marisol Casado 

GOLD – BBC Sport – BBC Sport at PyeongChang 2018
Production Manager: Sheona Griffiths. Production Executive: Rachel Wright
SILVER – Sky Network Television Limited – Sky NZ Winter Olympics IBC Operation
Producer: Matt Quin
BRONZE – SBS – SBS participation in two International Signal Events with a single crew
Producer & Director: Young Kwang Kim 

CATEGORY – Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 – The Best Feature – Presented by Kristina Vogel and Sarah Walker 

GOLD – BBC Sport – Youth Olympic Games – The New Sports - Director & Producer: Tom Kelly
SILVER – BBC Sport - Youth Olympic Games – Caroline Dubois profile
Director & Producer: Tom Kelly
BRONZE – Sky Network Television Limited - Youth Olympic Games Highlights Show
Director & Producer: Matt Quin