PICS: Stars get medals from Obama

Published Nov 23, 2016

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Washington - American public figures from cyber-age pioneer Bill Gates to sports icon Michael Jordan were among 21 people given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony.

The medal is the highest civilian honour in the United States.

"This is a particularly impressive class," Obama said before introducing each recipient one by one on Tuesday. "We've got innovators and artists, public servants, rabble rousers, athletes, renowned character actors."

Apart from being "good with computers," Obama cited Gates - along with his wife and co-recipient Melinda - for having donated more money to charitable causes than anyone in history.

The president praised Jordan for setting the standard for greatness in just about everything.

"There is a region you call somebody the Michael Jordan of neurosurgery or the Michael Jordan of rabbis or the Michael Jordan of outrigger canoeing," Obama added.

Honorees included another basketball great, Kareem Abdul Jabbar; comedian Ellen DeGeneres; actors Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford and Cicely Tyson; and musicians Diana Ross and Bruce Springsteen.

Less recognisable awardees included physicist Richard Garwin, architect Frank Gehry, computer scientist Margaret Hamilton and Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.

Obama leaves office in January after eight years.

Sputnik, Reuters

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