The International Olympic Committee on Saturday awarded Japanese ski jumper Kazuyoshi Funaki the Olympic Order for his outstanding performance at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano.
The 26-year-old Funaki, a double gold medalist on home soil, became the first active Japanese athlete to receive the honor given to people who have made notable contributions to the Olympic Movement. Funaki won the gold medal in the large hill event and silver in the normal hill before claiming his second gold of the Games as a member of the Japanese team which won the team competition.