DESCRIPTION

An extremely rare OPM. The obverse depicts an Alpine summit and the Olympic rings. The legend IV OLYMPISCHE WINTERSPIELE 1936 GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN rests along the periphery. The Olympic motto CITIUS ALTIUS FORTIUS over a fir branch is inscribed on the reverse. Gilt & silvered versions of this medal also exist.

THE GAMES

The 1936 Games were held in the twin Bavarian towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen. An efficient bus service allowed 500,000 people to attend the final day's events. Alpine skiing events were included for the first time, and this led to a major controversy. The IOC, overruling the International Ski Federation (FIS), declared that ski instructors could not take part in the Olympics because they were professionals. Incensed, the Austrian and Swiss skiers boycotted the events. The dispute carried on after the Games and it was decided that skiing would not be included in the 1940 Olympics. Sonja Henie earned her third gold medal and Karl Schäfer his second. Speed skater Ivan Ballangrud of Norway won three of the four races, including the 500m, the shortest race, and the 10,000m, the longest. Great Britain upset Canada in ice hockey, but it should be noted that ten of the twelve British players lived in Canada.