The Ecuadorian Olympic Committee will acknowledge outstanding athletes in 2023 and award them for their personal achievements in representing the country located on the South American Pacific coast.

The distinguished referents of Ecuadorian sport, including those who have competed in the qualifying events for the 33rd Modern Olympic Games to be held in Paris from 26 July to 11 August.

The ceremony will take place on Thursday 11 January from 20:00 local time at the TRYP by Wyndham Hotel in the coastal port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador's second largest city after the capital, Quito.

The Gala Night will also see the presentation of the "Citius, Altius, Fortius Trophy", an award reserved for the best young athlete. It recognises the best athletes between the ages of 16 and 22. There will also be the "Spirit of the Olympics Award", which has already been presented at two previous editions, and the "Olympic Heart Award" for outstanding social work in Ecuador.

Among the nominees in the male youth category are Jeremy Peralta, Bayardo Naranjo and Andrés Torres, and in the female category María Sol Naranjo, Kelin Jiménez, Lucia Yépez and Jessica Palacios.

Also, in the absolute category (no age limit) are, in the male category are: racewalker Alexander David Hurtado Espinosa, an athlete born in Quito on 21 April 1999, whose achievements include representing Ecuador at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 20 kilometre race; José Acevedo, a karateka born in Venezuela but representing Ecuador, who won the Pan American gold medal in his category up to 84 kilograms; and racewalker Daniel Pintado, born in Cuenca on 29 July 1995.

In the female categories, the nominees are: Glenda Morejón, an Ecuadorian athlete who specialises in race walking and was the 2017 U-18 5km champion and three-time South American champion; Angie Palacios, a weightlifter who won Pan American gold in the -71kg category at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile; and Lisseth Ayovía, also a weightlifter who recently won bronze in the +87kg women's category at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and silver at the Chilean Pan American Games.