The Olympic Diploma of Merit was an award given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to recognise outstanding services to sports or a notable contribution to the Olympic Games. By 1974, the last time the awards were granted, just 58 people had received the award. [1] [2]
Pierre de Coubertin, the originator of the modern Olympic Games, created the honour during the Brussels Olympic Congress of 1905 for those who had made outstanding services to sports or to those who had a major contribution in promoting the Olympic ideals. Strangely, at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where red, blue and yellow vouchers were exchanged by the first three athletes for gold, silver and bronze medals respectively, a non-winning competitor's blue voucher could be exchanged for a 'Diploma of Merit' (equivalent of the Olympic Diploma). [3] Sports people who have won the award include Englishman Jack Beresford, winner of medals at five successive Olympics, Dane Ivan Osiier who took part in seven Olympic Games over 28 years, missing the 1936 Games as a protest against Nazism [4] and Frenchman Jean Borotra, Olympic bronze medallist in the Men's Doubles in 1924, winner of four different tennis Grand Slam titles and founder of the International Fair Play Committee. [1]
Sports administrators and promoters who have received the award include Sir Herbert Macdonald, four-time team manager for the Jamaican Olympic Team, and Sir Stanley Rous, former Secretary of The Football Association and the 6th President of FIFA (and one of the last three winners along with Jean Borotra). [1] The award has also gone to those working in the arts: architect Kenzō Tange received the award for his design of the Japanese National Gymnasium for the 1964 Olympics, and film director Kon Ichikawa received one for his celebrated, athlete-focused 1965 documentary film Tokyo Olympiad ((Tōkyō Orinpikku)). [5]
The IOC discontinued the Olympic Diploma of Merit, and three other awards, at the 75th IOC session in 1974. The two extant awards are the Olympic Order, created in 1975 for distinguished contributions to the Olympic movement, and the Olympic Cup, instituted in 1906 by Coubertin for organisations with a record of support for the Olympics and presented annually. [6]
A listing of all 57 recipients: [7]
No. | Recipient | Country |
---|---|---|
1 | President Theodore Roosevelt | United States |
2 | Fridjhof Nansen | Norway |
3 | Santos Dumont | Brazil |
4 | Lord Desborough | United Kingdom |
5 | The Duke of the Abruzzis | Italy |
6 | Commandant Lancrenon | France |
7 | Count Zeppelin | Germany |
8 | Colonel Balck | Sweden |
9 | Dr. Jean Charcot | France |
10 | George Chavez | Peru |
11 | H. M. King Alphonso XIII | Spain |
12 | H. H. Crown Prince of Germany | Germany |
13 | Alain Gerbault | France |
14 | Colonel Charles Lindbergh | United States |
15 | Captain Harry Pidgeon | United States |
16 | Mr Hostin | France |
17 | Leni Riefenstahl | Germany |
18 | Angelo C. Bolanaki | Greece |
19 | Dr. Paul Martin | Switzerland |
20 | Jack Beresford | United Kingdom |
21 | Dr. Ivan Osiier | Denmark |
22 | Guatemalan Olympic Committee | Guatemala |
23 | "Les Enfants de Neptune", Tourcoing | France |
24 | Dr. Fr. M. Messerli | Switzerland |
25 | Bill Henry | United States |
26 | Harry Neville Amos | New Zealand |
27 | Alfréd Hajós | Hungary |
28 | Jeanette Altwegg | United Kingdom |
29 | Charles Denis | France |
30 | Colonel Marco Perez Jimenez | Venezuela |
31 | Dr. Carl Diem | Germany |
32 | Antoine Hafner | Switzerland |
33 | The Rt. Hon. R. G. Menzies | Australia |
34 | Otto Mayer, Chancellor of the IOC | Switzerland |
35 | Maurice Genevoix | France |
36 | Nikolai Romanov | USSR |
37 | H. R. H. Prince Axel | Denmark |
38 | Victor Boin | Belgium |
39 | Rudolph Hagelstange | Germany |
40 | Kenzo Tange | Japan |
41 | Burhan Felek | Turkey |
42 | Joseph Barthel | Luxembourg |
43 | Joseph A. Gruss | Czechoslovakia |
44 | Antonio Elola | Spain |
45 | Kon Ichikawa | Japan |
46 | Sir Herbert McDonald | Jamaica |
47 | Vernon Morgan | United Kingdom |
48 | Francisco Nobre Guedes | Portugal |
49 | Jean-Francois Brisson | France |
50 | Gaston Meyer | France |
51 | Andres Merce Varela | Spain |
52 | Frederick Ruegsegger | United States |
53 | Epaminondas Petralias | Greece |
54 | Otl Aicher | Germany |
55 | Sir Stanley Rous | United Kingdom |
56 | The Rt. Hon. Lord Philip Noel-Baker | United Kingdom |
57 | Jean Borotra | France |
The International Olympic Committee is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories participating; by default the Games generally substitute for any World Championships the year in which they take place. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, and since 1994, have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.
Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, also known as Pierre de Coubertin and Baron de Coubertin, was a French educator and historian, co-founder of the International Olympic Committee, and its second president. He is known as the father of the modern Olympic Games. He was particularly active in promoting the introduction of sport in French schools.
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years on leap years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and the most recent Games were held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for organising the Games and for overseeing the host city's preparations. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place.
The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.
The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the edition that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994.After this edition, the next one was to be held in 1998 when the 4-years Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad and commonly known as Athens 1896, was the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin, it was held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.
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The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games in Athens" by the International Olympic Committee. However, the medals that were distributed to the participants during these games are not officially recognised by the Olympic Committee and are not displayed with the collection of Olympic medals at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closing ceremonies were held.
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