How Great Britain were stripped of Olympic medal after bizarrely unexpected investigation
This year’s Olympic Games has already been a dramatic ride for Team GB, and we’ve still got a couple of weeks to go before things wrap up.
Judo star Emma Reid broke down in tears while speaking to press after having her Olympic dreams flattened when she lost out in the first round to South Korea's Yoon Hyun-ji, having been was disqualified after receiving three penalties.
Rower Lola Anderson also had hearts breaking across the nation when she won gold after beating the Netherlands by just 0.15 seconds in the quadruple sculls, explaining how her dad had spurred her on before dying from cancer as he handed her a note she’d once written but thrown in the bin.
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"My name is Lola Anderson and I think it would be my biggest dream in life to go to the Olympics in rowing and if possible win a gold for GB,” the note said.
I’m not crying, you are.
All the blood, sweat and tears are paying off for the Brits, who are currently sitting at sixth place at the time of writing.
Mind you, they’re not always guaranteed to remain awarded, as there have been a number of occasions where medals have been taken away years later.
Arguably the most bizarre instance of a medal being confiscated actually happened last month - only a brief 124 years on from when it was first awarded.
It happened all the way back in 1900, at the Olympic Games in Paris, when Britain came second in the men's 25km cycling race as Lloyd Hildebrand bagged himself a silver medal.
Hildebrand was born in Britain but grew up in France and went on to marry a French woman
Back in the day, athletes only had to pay an entry fee and submit the number of their licence that had been ‘established by the national federation where they were regularly competing’.
The IOC (International Olympic Committee) looked into the matter and, on 17 June 2024, officially assigned the medal to France due to Hildebrand's ties there.
Ouch.
A statement on the Olympics website said: "Recent research has now concluded that, even though Hildebrand was a British citizen, he was brought up in France, and competed for a French club before and after Paris 1900.
"Based on this newfound information, the IOC EB decided to apply the same policy as in previous cases brought to the IOC’s attention.
"The medal won by Hildebrand will now be credited to France instead of Great Britain in the official records of the Olympic Games Paris 1900 and in the IOC’s database."
Topics: Olympics
Jess Hardiman