They were given their medals at a special reception, held in their honour, at the European Hospitality Club here in the host city by EOC President Patrick Hickey, vice-president Janez Kocijančič, secretary general Raffaele Pagnozzi, and Executive Committee member Zlatko Mateša.

“It is a real pleasure to be able to award European Games medals to the Chefs de Mission here in Baku,” Hickey said.

“The Chefs de Missions are amongst the busiest people at the European Games so I’m delighted to have caught up with them to thank them in person for their hard work and professionalism.

“Their contribution to the success of the inaugural European Games so far has been significant.”

As well as being part of the actual event, which comes to a close next Sunday (June 28) with the Closing Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium, the Chefs de Missions also took part in seminars held from June last year.

Each session gathered the respective Chefs de Mission to discuss their preparation for the Games and Hickey believes being part of Baku 2015 will help them prepare for future major multi-sport events.

“One of the core aims behind introducing a European Games was to provide opportunities for NOCs to develop their athletes and the Chefs de Missions have done a great job in preparing those athletes for Baku 2015.

“I have no doubt that their experience in Baku will help them refine their preparations for Rio 2016 and of course for the next European Games in 2019.”

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