Great Britain are currently seventh in the Olympic table for this year’s showpiece in Paris but one medal handed out at a previous Games in the French capital has been taken away.
At the time of writing, Team GB have 11 medals at this year’s Olympics – made up of three golds, five silvers and three bronzes.
However, they are not always guaranteed to remain awarded as there have been a number of occasions where medals have been taken away years later.
Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt had that happen to him, having had to hand back his gold medal for the 4x100m relay from Beijing 2008 after Nesta Carter tested positive for a banned substance nine years later.
But the most bizarre instance of a medal being confiscated actually happened last month, 124 years on from when it was first awarded.
It also happened at an Olympic Games in Paris, all the way back in 1900. Britain came second in the men’s 25km cycling race, with Lloyd Hildebrand bagging himself a silver medal.
Image: Getty
Hildebrand was born in Britain but grew up in France and even married a French woman.
Back in the day, athletes only had to pay an entry fee and submit the number of their licence which had been “established by the national federation where they were regularly competing”.
The IOC (International Olympic Committee) looked until the matter and on 17 June 2024, officially assigned the medal to France due to Hildebrand’s ties there.
A statement on the Olympics website said: “Recent research has now concluded that, even though Hildebrand was a British citizen, he 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.”
BEST ODDS ON THE INTERNET!!!
