Olympics | A 15-year-old boy was left without a gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics – now he got his medal 72 years later

When Helsinki organized the Olympic Games in the summer of 1952, the sports program of the games was considerably narrower than today. At that time, 17 sports were contested, which included 149 sports. So hundreds of medals were awarded, but not all those entitled to the podium received a medal.

The line of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) was that the competitors who lost the semi-final match did not receive a bronze medal, but only a diploma. Also, one silver medal was not awarded in the boxing ring, due to a disqualification in the heavyweight final For Ingemar Johansson no medals were awarded.

The boxers got their honor restored later, because in 1970 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to retroactively award bronze medals to the bronze medalists of the previous Olympic Games (women’s boxing did not enter the Olympic program until London 2012. Johansson had to wait even longer for her medal, but in 1982 the Swede received her medal after decades of waiting.

Yet the American sailor had to wait longer for his medal Michael Schoettle88. He received his medal only this summer after a 72-year wait.

Schoettle was part of the crew that sailed in the 5.5 m class as an alternate. The Complex II boat is skippered Britton Chance Summe White jr and by Edgar White completing the trio. Substitute Schoettle was needed in the sixth start, so he got a taste of the competitive atmosphere.

In the seventh start that concluded the Olympic regatta, Schoettle was not in the boat. In the last race, Complex II got ahead of the Norwegian Encore boat in the overall points and won the gold medal.

Schoettle was born in 1936 and was only 15 years old at the time. In Helsinki, he was able to celebrate the victory, but was therefore left without his own medal.

Schoettle a career in sailing continued for a long time. Schoettle was also an alternate in the Kiel Olympic regatta in 1972. In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, he was involved in the organization of the sailing competitions. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Schoettle was the team leader of the USA sailors.

The fate of Schoettle’s medal saddened his son Will Schoettleat the initiative of which the US Sailing Federation started in February 2023 to find out the basis of the medal line at the time of the Helsinki Games. In the rules in force in 1952, there was no reason to leave Schoettle without a medal.

The International Sailing Federation came to the same view and proposed to the IOC that Schoettle receive his medal. The IOC admitted its mistake and decided that the meritorious sailor will receive the award he deserves, on the US Sailing website let’s tell.

The gold medal was presented to “Mike” Schoettle on July 14, 2024 in Los Angeles. Today, September 7, Schoettle turns 88 years old.

Correction on September 7, 2024 at 12:27 p.m.: Michael Schoettle turns 88, not 87.