Pierre de Coubertin medal

The Pierre de Coubertin medal (also known as the De Coubertin medal or the True Spirit of Sportsmanship medal) is a special decoration awarded by the International Olympic Committee to those athletes, former athletes, sports promoters, sporting officials and others who exemplify the spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events or through exceptional service to the Olympic movement.[1][2]

The medal was inaugurated in 1964 and named in honour of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee. According to the Olympic Museum, it "is one of the noblest honours that can be bestowed upon an Olympic athlete."[3]

Recipients

Recipient	Country	Accomplishment(s)	Date	Place
Luz Long	Germany	1936 Summer Olympics	1964 (awarded posthumously)	Berlin, Germany
Eugenio Monti	Italy	1964 Winter Olympics	1964	Innsbruck, Austria
Franz Jonas[4]	Austria	—	July 1969	Vienna, Austria
Karl Heinz Klee	Austria	1976 Winter Olympics	February 1977	Innsbruck, Austria
Lawrence Lemieux	Canada	1988 Summer Olympics	September 1988	Seoul, South Korea
Justin Harley McDonald	Australia	1994 Winter Olympics	1994	Lillehammer, Norway
Raymond Gafner	Switzerland	—	1999	—
Emil Zátopek	Czechoslovakia	1952 Summer Olympics	6 December 2000 (awarded posthumously)	Helsinki, Finland
Spencer Eccles	United States	2002 Winter Olympics	February 2002	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Tana Umaga	New Zealand	2003 Rugby Test Match	June 2003	Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Martin Franken	Netherlands	In recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the Olympic Movement and services to the IOC	16 November 2006 by the IOC President	Lausanne, Switzerland
Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima[5]	Brazil	2004 Summer Olympics	29 August 2004	Athens, Greece
Elena Novikova-Belova	Belarus	2007 XI International Scientific Congress	17 May 2007	Minsk, Belarus
Shaul Ladany	Israel	"Unusual outstanding sports achievements during a span covering over four decades"[6]	17 May 2007	Minsk, Belarus
Petar Cupać	Croatia	2008 Summer Olympics	18 November 2008	Beijing, China
Ivan Bulaja
Pavle Kostov
Ronald Harvey	Australia	—	2 April 2009	—
Eric Monnin	France	Olympic education specialist	2012	—
Bob Nadin	Canada	Ice hockey referee	2012	—
Richard Garneau	Canada	2014 Winter Olympics	6 February 2014 (awarded posthumously)	Sochi, Russia
Manfred Bergman	Israel	For services rendered to the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic cause	December, 2008	Lausanne, Switzerland
Michael Hwang[7]	Singapore	"Exceptional services to the Olympic movement"	13 October 2014	Singapore, Singapore
Eduard von Falz-Fein[8]	Liechtenstein	"Long service to the Olympic movement"	17 February 2017	Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Lü Junjie	China	Zisha artist[9]	16 January 2018	Lausanne, Switzerland
Han Meilin[10]	China	Chinese artist most recognized today for his creation of the Fuwa dolls for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.	24 April 2018	Lausanne, Switzerland

Some news media reported on 22 August 2016 that Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D'Agostino had received the medal after colliding with each other on the track during the 5000m event and assisting each other to continue the race.[11] The New Zealand Olympic Committee said that no such award had yet been made,[12] and The Guardian later corrected their report confirming "the award was the International Fair Play Committee Award rather than the Pierre de Coubertin award".[11]

Quotations

“Nash didn't win because I gave him the bolt. He won because he had the fastest run.”

—Eugenio Monti when interviewed after giving a bolt from his own bobsled to his competitors, the British bobsled team, at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Monti was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for his sportsmanship.

“It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler... You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Lutz Long at that moment."

—Jesse Owens after being advised by his competitor, Lutz Long, at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Long was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for his sportsmanship.[13]

"I can't accept Emanuel's medal. I'm happy with mine. It's bronze but means gold."

—Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, in September 1, 2004, after Brazilian beach volleyball player Emanuel Rego, who won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, gave his gold medal to him on a television program. Deeply touched, Vanderlei returned it.[14]

"Victory due to the opponents’ inadequate equipment is not a merit. Co-operation among sports people is a fundamental part of Olympism."

- Australian Justin Harley McDonald, Bobsleigh, who won the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Trophy 1994 for Act of Fair Play. McDonald was the first Australian to be awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Trophy.

See also

• Olympic Cup
• Olympic Order

References

1. "BBC SPORT - Olympics 2008 blog". Retrieved 22 August 2016.
2. "Random Human Neural Firings: February 2010". Retrieved 22 August 2016.
3. "Angel or demon? The choice of fair play". Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
4. Newsletter No. 22, Comité international olympique, Château de Vidy 1007 Lausanne, p. 402
5. "Lima Vanderlei receives the Pierre de Coubertin medal - Olympic News". 21 July 2016.
6. "Sports Shorts – Israel News". Haaretz. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
7. "Singapore Lawyer Michael Hwang receives the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for his Services to the Olympic Movement - Singapore National Olympic Council". 13 October 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
8. "IOC President visits Liechtenstein - International Olympic Committee". 17 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
9. "IOC awards Pierre de Coubertin medal to Chinese artist Lv Junjie - Xinhua - English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
10. "Chinese artist awarded Coubertin Medal at IOC headquarters in Lansanne". Xinhua. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
11. "New Zealand and US runners awarded for sportsmanship". The Guardian. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
12. "Rio Olympics: Kiwi runner Nikki Hamblin in line for rare Pierre de Coubertin honour". Stuff. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
13. Schwartz, Larry (2007). "ESPN.com: Owens pierced a myth". Retrieved August 14, 2008.
14. "Emanuel surpreende e oferece sua medalha de ouro para Vanderlei Cordeiro" [Emanuel surprises and offers his gold medal to Vanderlei Cordeiro] (in Portuguese). Folha Online. September 1, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2012.