IOC Executive Board approves change of Lloyd Hildebrand’s silver medal at Paris 1900, from Great Britain to France
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has agreed to rectify its historical records to reflect the fact that a silver medal from the Olympic Games Paris 1900 will now be credited to France rather than Great Britain. This was approved today by the IOC Executive Board (EB) during its meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The medal in question was won by Lloyd Hildebrand, who competed in two cycling events and finished second in the men’s 25km race. As was the norm then, and for several later editions of the Olympic Games, athletes had only to send the number of their licence, established by the national federation where they were regularly competing, and pay the entry fees to compete at the Games. National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were not involved in the process, as they are today.
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.
*This news story has been updated on 17 June 2024. It was mistakenly published earlier that Hildebrand was born in France. However, this does not affect the rationale behind the decision to credit the medal to France, as this was based on the NOC of the club that entered him.
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