Prix ​​olympique d'alpinisme

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The Olympic mountaineering prize, Prix ​​olympique d'alpinisme, was awarded three times between 1924 and 1936 on the occasion of the Olympic Games for the most outstanding achievement in the past four years in the field of mountaineering . A tragic aspect of this award is the fact that two award winners were killed in other mountaineering expeditions in the same year shortly before or after the award.

history

The award of a prize for alpine achievements had already been proposed and decided at the founding congress of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from June 16 to 23, 1894 in Paris . Pierre de Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympic Games, expressly supported this idea. A corresponding prize was already planned for the first games, but was not awarded in 1896 , 1900 , 1904 or 1908 due to a lack of prize-worthy nominations .

At the Stockholm Games in 1912 , the Swede Erik Ullen, who was appointed head of the assessment committee for alpinism, could not decide on a winner. The reasons included, among other things, the use of paid mountain guides on some nominated expeditions, which was viewed as a violation of the Olympic Charter, difficulties in comparing different types of climbing (ice, firn and rock climbing), and problems with consideration the weather conditions and the safety measures as an aspect of the degree of difficulty, and uncertainties regarding an appropriate consideration of the mountain guides and porters in the award. These difficulties in choosing a winner also prevented the award of the prize in the games of 1920 after the games planned for 1916 did not take place due to the First World War .

On May 28, 1921, an Olympic conference on mountaineering was held. The prize was awarded for the first time three years later, during the 1924 International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix. In the subsequent games in 1928, no performance was found to be worthy of a prize. This was due, among other things, to the fact that the Mount Everest Expedition , which was awarded in 1924 , was viewed as outstanding and it was therefore hardly possible to exceed or even come close to this performance. Pierre de Coubertin, who attached great importance to this award and was accordingly disappointed by the fact that it was not awarded in 1928, advocated closer cooperation with the mountaineering associations. As a result, the prize was awarded again at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Games.

After the Olympic Games were interrupted by World War II , mountaineering was eliminated from the Olympic program, although this was not based on an official decision by the IOC. The Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) as the international umbrella organization of mountaineering and climber associations, since 1995 a member of the Association of the IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF), is still standing for the recognition of sport climbing as an Olympic sport.

Award winners

I. 1924 Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix

The prize awarded at the 1924 Winter Olympics was given to the participants of the Mount Everest Expedition of 1922 under the leadership of the English General Charles Granville Bruce during the closing ceremony on February 5, 1924 . The expedition reached an altitude between 8,300 and 8,500 meters. All 13 participants were personally awarded a gold-plated silver medal by Pierre de Coubertin. As Bruce could not be present in Chamonix due to the preparations for another Everest expedition, the deputy expedition leader Edward Strutt accepted the award for him. On receiving the award, he swore to take the medal on the next Everest expedition to the top of the mountain.

George Mallory , who also took part in the expedition in 1922 and received an award in 1924, died in the same year while trying again to conquer Mount Everest with Andrew Irvine .

X. 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles

The prize, awarded during the 1932 Summer Olympics , was presented to the brothers Franz and Toni Schmid from Germany for the first ascent of the north face of the Matterhorn in 1931 at the suggestion of IOC members Theodor Lewald and Alberto Bonacossa :

“… Upon the proposal of HE Dr. Lewald, supported by Count Bonacossa, the Committee awarded the Prize of Alpinism to Mr. Schmidt (Germany) for his remarkable exploit in climbing the Matterhorn on the north side, accompanied by his brother, since deceased. … ”

"... According to the proposal of His Excellency Dr., supported by Count Bonacossa. Lewald, the committee awards the alpinism prize to Mr. Schmid (Germany) for his remarkable feat of climbing the Matterhorn on the north side, accompanied by his brother, who has since passed away. ... "

Theodor Lewald, then President of the German Olympic Committee, accepted the award on behalf of the Schmid brothers on the last day of the Games. Toni Schmid did not live to see the award, however, because shortly before the games he and a companion had a fatal accident on the north face of the Wiesbachhorn on May 16, 1932 .

XI. 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin

The last time the prize was awarded, the Swiss couple Hettie and Günter Dyhrenfurth were honored for their two Himalayan expeditions in 1930 and 1934 during the Summer Olympics in 1936 :

“… The prize for mountain climbing is unanimously conferred upon Mr. and Mrs. Dyhrenfurth, Switzerland, who have made a series of remarkable ascents and scientific expeditions in the Himalayas. … ”

“... The mountaineering award is unanimously awarded to Mr. and Mrs. Dyhrenfurth from Switzerland, who have undertaken a number of remarkable ascents and scientific expeditions in the Himalayas. ... "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ippolita Degli Oddi, Lorenzo Gigliotti: Mountain Sports in Olympic History. A Context for returning climbing to the modern Olympic Games. Report of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA), 2005
  2. ↑ Various authors: Mount Everest - 50 Years of Höhenrausch. In: Geo Magazin. Issues 04/2003 and 06/2003
  3. ^ Pierre de Coubertin: Olympic Memoirs XXI: the eighth Olympiad (Paris 1924). In: Olympic Review. No. 129, July 1978, pp. 434-438.
  4. ^ Karl Lennartz: George Mallory, and Everest. In: Olympic Review. Vol. XXVI, No. 30, December / January 1999, p. 57
  5. ^ In: Bulletin Officiel du Comité International Olympique. No. October 22, 1932, pp. 11-15
  6. ↑ Imke Habegger: Sleepless on the icy rock needle. The Munich brothers Franz and Toni Schmid conquer the dangerous north face of the Matterhorn. In: General-Anzeiger. Issued December 31, 1998
  7. ^ In: Bulletin Officiel du Comité International Olympique. No. 32, November 1936, pp. 2-13