Biathlon events at the Winter Olympics harken back to the ancient Norse god of skiing and hunting, Ullr. Once a necessity for living, the combined cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship evolved into a popular Nordic sport. A fixture of Olympic competition since the first Winter Games in 1924, the 1992 Games held in Albertville, France, featured six biathlon events. And for the first time, women were invited to compete. Germany dominated the other 5 nations competing, winning 3 Gold and 4 Silvers, followed by the Unified Team (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Armenia) who won 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze.
Featured here is the Silver Winner’s Medal awarded for one of the Women’s Biathlon events at the 1992 Olympics. For the Albertville Games, winners medals were handmade by the world renowned French jewelry and crystal manufacturer, Cristallerie Lalique. Silver medals were crafted from a combination of silver and Lalique crystal, featuring the Olympic Rings superimposed over the Alpine Mountains encircled by the Albertville ’92 logo and olive branch along with “ALBERTVILLE 92 XVI JEUX OLYMIQUES D’HIVER • XVI OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES.” Although the International Olympic Committee asked for the specific sport to be engraved on the medal, Lalique disregarded this directive and completed each medal sans event. This unique and visually stunning medal was finished with a long silver ribbon with a stripe at its center consisting of the five Olympic colors of blue, gold, black, green and red.
The medal comes with its original grey leatherette case with the 1992 Winter Olympics logo on top and lined in grey velvet on the interior. Measuring 93mm in diameter and 10mm thick and weighing in at 185 grams, it comes in outstanding condition with some very light surface scuffs, while the case has some spotting on its outer surface. Saying this medal is rare doesn't do it justice. You can count on one hand the number of winners medals (gold, silver or bronze) from the ’92 Winter Games that have come up for auction. Name of biathlon medalist and event will be revealed to winning bidder.