THE PIERRE DE COUBERTIN MEDAL

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The E-Sylum: Volume 28, Number 10, , Article 23

THE PIERRE DE COUBERTIN MEDAL

This article discusses athletes that have won The Pierre de Coubertin Medal, the highest honor awarded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The award can also be given to those who have provided "exceptional service to the Games," but they are not covered in this article. The full list of 57 recipients can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Coubertin_Medal. -Garrett

A total of 5,084 medals were produced for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, with a total of 878 medal events contested across the summer.

Established athletes such as Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky continued their Olympic legacies, while France swimmer Leon Marchand took home four gold medals and was arguably the star of the Olympics.

In the Paralympics, cyclist Sarah Storey further cemented her position as Great Britain's most successful Paralympian with an astonishing 19 gold medals.

But gold medals handed out by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are not just limited to the Summer or Winter Olympics/Paralympics themselves.

The Pierre de Coubertin Medal is given out to athletes who 'exemplify the spirit of sportsmanship or exceptional service to the Games'.

Frenchman De Coubertin was the co-founder of the IOC and is known as the 'father of the modern Olympic Games'.

Leon Stukelj (Slovenia)

Date Awarded: November 1999
Dates Competed: 1924 through 1936
Achievements: 4 gold medals; oldest living Olympian (1996-1998)

Joao Havelange (Brazil)

Date Awarded: 2000
Dates Competed: 1936 and 1952
Achievements: IOC Medal (1963-2011)

Emil Zatopek (Czechoslovakia)

Date Awarded: 2000
Dates Competed: 1948 and 1952
Achievements: Gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m; broke world records in 10,000m and 20km

Cecilia Tait (Peru)

Date Awarded: 2003
Dates Competed: 1988
Achievements: Silver medal for volleyball; promoted women in sports

Vanderlei de Lima (Brazil)

Date Awarded: 2004
Dates Competed: 1996 and 2004
Achievements: Attacked by Irish priest, depriving him of gold medal

Elena Belova (Soviet Union/Belarus)

Date Awarded: 2007
Dates Competed: 1968 through 1980
Achievements: Foil Fencer

Shaul Ladany (Israel)

Date Awarded: 2007
Dates Competed: 1968 and 1972
Achievements: Holds the world record in the 50-mile walk; 100km world championship gold medal

Viktor Mamatov (Soviet Union/Russia)

Date Awarded: 2008
Dates Competed: 1968 and 1972
Achievements: Two gold medals in team 4 x 7.5km relay; Soviet and Russian Olympic Coach

Boyen Radev (Bulgaria)

Date Awarded: 2009
Dates Competed: 1964 and 1968
Achievements: Gold medals in wrestling's light heavyweight category; one of six Bulgarian athletes to win multiple Olympic gold medals.

To read the complete article, see:
Only nine athletes have been awarded super-rare Olympic medal with just six receiving it since 2004 (https://www.sportbible.com/other/olympics-rare-medal-awarded-ioc-athletes-134564-20250228)

Wayne Homren, Editor

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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