At its General Assembly on 10 June in Brussels the Belgian National Olympic Committee awarded its fourth Order of Merit. This year, NOC President and IOC Member Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant presented the trophy to Ingrid Berghmans, a judoka and an advocate of women’s sport in Belgium and internationally.
Ingrid Berghmans won six world and seven European titles, and took part in the first women’s judo tournament at the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. In 2013 she was the first woman to be inducted into the Judo Hall of Fame, and she has been named Belgium’s Sportswoman of the Year eight times. Ingrid Berghmans declared: “Each time, I am a little surprised when I receive an award for something I did in my life before. After judo, I had not much time to look back on my career. I had to earn money to feed my family. But I am still very proud to be the first women who ever won this trophy in Belgium. I am very proud.“