# Pierre de Coubertin Medal

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." It was designed by André Ricard Sala, with one face featuring a portrait of Coubertin and the other showing the Olympic motto and rings.
The medal is not the same award as the Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy, which was inaugurated in 1965 and is awarded by the International Fair Play Committee, although the two are often 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 5000 m event and assisting each other to continue the race. The New Zealand Olympic Committee said that no such award had yet been made, and The Guardian later corrected their report confirming "the award was the International Fair Play Committee Award rather than the Pierre de Coubertin award". It is also regularly mentioned that the first winner of the Pierre de Coubertin Medal was the Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti in 1964, although in fact he became the first winner of the Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy. Lawrence Lemieux didn't receive the medal either.
A medal awarded since 1969 "for outstanding merits in the Olympic Movement" by the Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC) called the Pierre de Coubertin-Medaille, 'Pierre de Coubertin Medal' has given rise to further confusion. The first recipients at a ceremony held on 23 June 1969 at the Museum of the 20th Century in Vienna were Austrian President Franz Jonas, IOC President Avery Brundage, IOC member Manfred Mautner Markhof [de], the Minister of Education Theodor Piffl-Perčević [arz; de; no; uk], the ÖOC President Heinrich Drimmel [de], and the ÖOC Hon. Secretary-General Edgar Fried [de]. Later recipients include Rudolf Sallinger [arz; de], Pat Hickey, and Dieter Kalt Sr..

## Recipients

| Recipient | Country | Accomplishment(s) | Date | Place |
| Juan Antonio Samaranch | Spain | Seventh President of the International Olympic Committee | 6 September 1997 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Leon Štukelj | Slovenia | — | 12 November 1999 | Maribor, Slovenia |
| Raymond Gafner | Switzerland | — | 1999 | — |
| Rainier III, Prince of Monaco | Monaco | — | 2000 | — |
| João Havelange | Brazil | — | 2000 | — |
| Gianni Agnelli | Italy | — | 2000 | — |
| Alain Danet [fr; pl] | France | — | 2000 | — |
| Kurt Furgler | Switzerland | — | 2000 | — |
| Henry Kissinger | United States | — | 2000 | — |
| Yoshiaki Tsutsumi | Japan | — | 2000 | — |
| Emil Zátopek | Czechoslovakia | 1952 Summer Olympics | 6 December 2000 | Prague, Czech Republic |
| Kéba Mbaye | Senegal | — | 2001 | — |
| Rudolf Leising | Switzerland | — | 2001 | — |
| Wolf Lyberg [sv] | Sweden | Sports journalist, "for his many contributions to the International Olympic Committee and to the Olympic Family" | July 2001 (awarded) 22 November 2001 (presented) | Moscow, Russia Stockholm, Sweden |
| Spencer Eccles | United States | 2002 Winter Olympics | February 2002 | Salt Lake City, United States |
| Frieder Roskam | Germany | German architect, "for his groundbreaking work in sports facility construction" | 30 April 2002 | Cologne, Germany |
| Artur Takac [sh; sr] | Switzerland | — | 2002 | — |
| Conrado Durantez [es; gl] | Spain | — | 2002 | — |
| Hilda Múdra | Slovakia | — | 2002 | — |
| Cecilia Tait | Peru | First Peruvian recipient, "in recognition of her contribution to the promotion of women in sport" | 21 March 2003 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Walburga Grimm [de] | Germany | — | 2003 | — |
| Marino Ercolani Casadei | San Marino | — | 2003 | — |
| Julio Ernesto Cassanello | Argentina | President of the Argentine Olympic Committee 2005–09 | 2003 | — |
| Vanderlei de Lima | Brazil | In recognition of his exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values during the 2004 Summer Olympics | 29 August 2004 | Athens, Greece |
| Elena Belova | Belarus | Presented at the 2007 XI International Scientific Congress | 17 May 2007 | Minsk, Belarus |
| Shaul Ladany | Israel | For "unusual outstanding sports achievements during a span covering over four decades" | 17 May 2007 | Minsk, Belarus |
| Viktor Khotochkin | Russia | First Vice-President, the Russian Olympic Committee (2002–2009), "for his outstanding contribution to the development of the International Olympic Movement" | 2007 | — |
| Viktor Mamatov | Russia | — | 2008 | — |
| Manfred Bergman | Israel | For services rendered to the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic cause | December 2008 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Ronald Harvey | Australia | Former CEO of the Australian Sports Commission and Director of the Australian Institute of Sport, first Australian recipient | 2 April 2009 | Australia |
| Emanuel Bosák | Czech Republic | — | May 2009 | Jičín, Czech Republic |
| Xia Geng [zh] | China | Mayor of Qingdao [zh] 2003–2012, "to thank Qingdao City for its efforts in the Olympic Movement" | 22 July 2009 | Qingdao, China |
| Boyan Radev | Bulgaria | — | 15 September 2009 | — |
| Gagik Tsarukyan | Armenia | President of the Armenian Olympic Committee, "for his invaluable contribution to the development of sport in Armenia" | 13 November 2010 | Yerevan, Armenia |
| Eric Monnin | France | Olympic education specialist, first French recipient | August 2012 (awarded) 6 August 2013 (presented) | — |
| Bob Nadin | Canada | Veteran ice hockey referee and referee supervisor, medal presented at the 2013 IIHF World Championship | May 2013 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Richard Garneau | Canada | French Canadian sports broadcaster, "for his lifetime dedication to Olympism" | 6 February 2014 | Sochi, Russia |
| Hermann Andrecs | Austria | Co-founder and former president of the Austrian Olympic Academy, "for services to the Olympic Movement" | 10 September 2014 | Vienna, Austria |
| Michael Hwang | Singapore | "Exceptional services to the Olympic Movement" | 13 October 2014 | Singapore |
| Geraint John | United Kingdom | First British recipient for "many years of outstanding service to the Olympic Movement while bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to Olympic design" | 28 November 2014 | London, England |
| Petros Synadinos | Greece | Member of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and President of the Hellenic Archery Federation, "for his multi-year and multifaceted contribution to the Olympics and sports" | 2016 | Athens, Greece |
| Eduard von Falz-Fein | Liechtenstein | "Long service to the Olympic Movement" | 17 February 2017 | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
| Lü Junjie | China | First Zisha artist to be awarded, for "his work using Zisha to spread the Olympic spirit" | 15 January 2018 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Han Meilin | China | Designer of the Fuwa, mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics | 24 April 2018 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Diego Pulido Aragón | Guatemala | Guatemalan banker and funder "for believing that through sports, culture and education, we can build a better future for our country" | 28 August 2018 | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Aldons Vrubļevskis | Latvia | Former President of the Latvian NOC | 28 November 2020 | Sigulda, Latvia |
| André Leclercq [fr] | France | At the 70th anniversary of the French Pierre de Coubertin Committee [fr] | 5 November 2021 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Cui Jingzhe | China | Chinese artist, for "[his] efforts in spreading the Olympic spirit through art" | 11 January 2022 | Beijing, China |
| George Hirthler | United States | Author of The Idealist about Pierre de Coubertin | 23 June 2022 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Rolf Lukaschewski [de] | Germany | German-born contemporary artist for "[his] inspiring positive expression of channelling the vision of Coubertin through [his] extraordinary art" | 23 June 2022 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Kim Min-jae | South Korea | Korean sports photographer, first Korean recipient | May 2018 (awarded) 19 October 2022 (presented) | Seoul, South Korea |
| Michael Robert Payne | United Kingdom | Author of the 2021 IOC book Toon In! | 1 December 2022 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Elguja Berishvili | Georgia | First Vice President of the Georgian National Olympic Committee, "for his contribution to the Olympic movement". First Georgian recipient. | April 2023 (awarded) August 2024 (presented) | Paris, France |
| Jean Durry [fr; it] | France | Author of Coubertin autographe – Tome I (1889–1915) about Pierre de Coubertin | 23 June 2023 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Ed Hula | United States | Editor and Founder of Around the Rings | 23 June 2023 | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| David Miller | United Kingdom | Journalist and Olympic historian, author of Igniting the Games: The Evolution of the Olympics and Thomas Bach's Legacy (2022) | November 2023 | London, England |
| Telmo Guerra | Portugal | Portuguese artist, first Portuguese recipient | 21 June 2024 | Lausanne, Switzerland |