There are not only gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympic Games. There is also a medal that has nothing to do with the game result and can be won even if it is not an active player. The Pierre de Coubertin Medal goes to the person who embodies the spirit of sports. The medal is named after the founder of the modern Olympic Games. There have been many gold medalists at the Olympics. However, a total of only seventeen people won the Coubertin Medal from 1964 when it was established until 2016. That’s why it can be a more honorable award than a gold medal.
Lawrence Lemieux from Canada, one of the seventeen winners, participated in the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988. He was second in the race, not too far from the first place in the game, and he could have won a gold medal as a heavy favorite. However, as the Singaporean team’s yacht capsized nearby due to strong winds, he immediately fetched about and rescued the players from drowning and kept them safe until a lifeboat came. Although he ended up in 22nd place and missed the gold medal, he won the Coubertin Medal.
Sometimes it seems that true victory has nothing to do with winning medals, because something valuable cannot be ranked.