The Pierre de Coubertin medal is a special decoration awarded by the International Olympic Committee that "pays tribute to institutions with a pedagogical and educational role and to people who, through their research and the creation of intellectual works in the spirit of Pierre de Coubertin, contribute to the promotion of Olympism."[1] It was designed by André Ricard Sala, with one face featuring a portrait of Coubertin and the other showing the Olympic motto and rings.[1]
| Pierre de Coubertin medal | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Institutions with a pedagogical and educational role and to people who, through their research and the creation of intellectual works in the spirit of Pierre de Coubertin, contribute to the promotion of Olympism. |
| Presented by | International Olympic Committee (IOC) |
| First awarded | 1997 |
| Website | http://www.olympic.org/  |
The medal is not the same award as the Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy, which was inaugurated in 1964 and is awarded by the International Fair Play Committee,[2][3] although the two are sometimes confused. For example, 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.[4] The New Zealand Olympic Committee said that no such award had yet been made,[5] and The Guardian later corrected their report confirming "the award was the International Fair Play Committee Award rather than the Pierre de Coubertin award".[4]
Recipients
edit| Recipient | Country | Accomplishment(s) | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Antonio Samaranch[6] |  Spain | Seventh President of the International Olympic Committee | 1997 | — |
| Leon Štukelj[7] |  Slovenia | — | 12 November 1999 (awarded posthumously) | — |
| Raymond Gafner |  Switzerland | — | 1999 | — |
| Rainier III, Prince of Monaco |  Monaco | — | 2000 | — |
| João Havelange |  Brazil | — | 2000 | — |
| Gianni Agnelli |  Italy | — | 2000 | — |
| Alain Danet |  France | — | 2000 | — |
| Kurt Furgler | Switzerland | — | 2000 | — |
| Henry Kissinger |  United States | — | 2000 | — |
| Yoshiaki Tsutsumi |  Japan | — | 2000 | — |
| Emil Zátopek |  Czechoslovakia | 1952 Summer Olympics | 6 December 2000 (awarded posthumously) | Helsinki, Finland |
| Kéba Mbaye |  Senegal | — | 2001 | — |
| Rodolphe Leising | Switzerland | — | 2001 | — |
| Wolf Lyberg |  Sweden | — | 2001 | — |
| Spencer Eccles | United States | 2002 Winter Olympics | February 2002 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Artur Takac | Switzerland | — | 2002 | — |
| Conrado Durantez | Spain | — | 2002 | — |
| Hilda Múdra |  Slovakia | — | 2002 | — |
| Carlos Luña Longo |  Guatemala | — | 2002 | — |
| Walburga Grimm |  Germany | — | 2003 | — |
| Cecilia Tait |  Peru | — | 2003 | — |
| Marino Ercolani Casadei |  San Marino | — | 2003 | — |
| Julio Ernesto Cassanello |  Argentina | — | 2003 | — |
| Vanderlei de Lima[8] | Brazil | In recognition of his exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values during the 2004 Summer Olympics | 29 August 2004 | Athens, Greece |
| Erwin Niedermann |  Austria | — | 2004 | — |
| Heiner Heinze | Germany | — | 2004 | — |
| Martin Franken |  Netherlands | In recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the Olympic Movement and services to the IOC | 16 November 2006 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| 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"[9] | 17 May 2007 | Minsk, Belarus |
| Manfred Bergman | Israel | For services rendered to the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic cause | December, 2008 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Boyan Radev[10] |  Bulgaria | — | 15 September 2009 | — |
| Bob Barney |  Canada | Professor and historian: "lifetime achievements in advancing Olympic scholarship" | 2009[11][12] | — |
| 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 |
| Michael Hwang[13] |  Singapore | "Exceptional services to the Olympic movement" | 13 October 2014 | Singapore |
| Petros Synadinos[14] |  | Long and diverse service to the Olympic Movement[15] | 2016 | Athens, Greece |
| Eduard von Falz-Fein[16] |  Liechtenstein | "[L]ong service to the Olympic movement"[16] | 17 February 2017 | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
| Lü Junjie |  China | Zisha artist[17] | 16 January 2018 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Han Meilin | China | Designer of the Fuwa, mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[18] | 24 April 2018 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Aldons Vrublevskis |  Latvia | Former President of the Latvian NOC[19] | 28 November 2020 | Sigulda, Latvia |
| George Hirthler[20] | United States | Author of 'The Idealist' about Pierre de Coubertin | 23 June 2022 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Rolf Lukaschewski[21] | Germany | German-born contemporary artist | 23 June 2022 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
