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Lawrence Lemieux

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Lawrence Lemieux
Born (1955-11-12) 12 November 1955 (age 68)
Edmonton, Alberta
OccupationSailing coach

Lawrence Lemieux (born 12 November 1955, in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian sailor, who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in the Star class and at the 1988 Summer Olympics in the Finn class. He was recognized for his noble actions in the latter competition.

Biography

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Lemieux grew up sailing on Wabamun Lake west of Edmonton with his five older brothers. He began racing solo boats in the 1970s.[1][unreliable source?]

1988 Olympic rescue

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On 24 September 1988, the sailing competition was underway at Busan Yachting Center, 325 kilometres (202 mi) from South Korea's capital of Seoul, the main Olympic site.[2] At the time, the 470 and Finn classes were running races on their respective courses. The wind suddenly picked up, blowing 35 knots (18 m/s; 65 km/h; 40 mph), and the Singapore team's 470 dinghy with Joseph Chan and Siew Shaw Her aboard capsized. The men were thrown from the boat as it heeled over and were injured and in need of assistance. At this time, Lemieux was running the fifth of the seven total races to determine the medalists in the Finn class and was in second place in that race.[3] Near the halfway point of his race, Lemieux spotted the turtled Singaporean boat and deviated from his course to assist in rescuing Chan and Siew. After pulling them from the water, Lemieux waited for a patrol boat to take the rescued sailors back to shore. Once that happened, he rejoined the Finn fleet, finishing in 22nd place in a field of 32 boats. However, due to his actions, the International Yacht Racing Union decided to reinstate Lemieux's position when he went off course, rewarding him with a second-place finish in his race.[4] Despite this, Lemieux went on to place eleventh in the class.

At a special ceremony on 28 September 1988, in attendance of Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, Peter Tallberg, president of the International Yacht Racing Union, and Constantine II of Greece, himself an able yachtsman having won a gold medal in the Dragon class at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Lemieux's heroic act was acknowledged,[5][6] with Samaranch saying, "By your sportsmanship, self-sacrifice and courage, you embody all that is right with the Olympic ideal."[7] Many 21st century sources, including BBC Sport,[8] Inside the Games,[9] CBC Sports,[5] The Globe and Mail,[10] Bustle,[11]Smithsonian,[12] India Today,[13] Mental Floss,[14] and Toronto Star,[15] as well as the Canadian Olympic Committee,[16] have peddled as a fact that Lemieux received the Pierre de Coubertin Medal, although the Medal was inaugurated nine years later in 1997.[17][18] The International Olympic Committee has said he did not receive it.[19] In CBC Sports video footage from 1988, Lemieux shows the "special price", a small blue trinket box with the Seoul Olympics logo on the hinged lid, and not quite sure what to call it says "it's a jar of some sort."[5][20]

Post-retirement

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Lemieux has since retired from professional sailing and is now a coach.[1] He is currently living at Seba Beach, Alberta. Asked in a 2012 interview if he would rather be talking about the medal he might have won instead of the rescue, Lemieux referred to sailing's lack of a high media profile: "You spend your life working really hard internationally and you get very few accolades. So that's the ironic thing; 25 years after this rescue, we're still talking about it."[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hester Lacey (9 June 2012). "The Olympians: Lawrence Lemieux, Canada". Financial Times Magazine.
  2. ^ Greenspan, B. (1995). 100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History. General Publishing Group. p. 204. ISBN 978-1-881649-66-3. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  3. ^ Morrow, D. (1989). A Concise History of Sport in Canada. Oxford University Press. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-19-540693-1. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  4. ^ Marsh, C. (1998). A Fun Book of Olympic Trivia: A-Z! Special Advance Edition! - 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia!. Olympic Trivia for Kids! Series. Gallopade International. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7933-8982-7. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Harrison, Doug (15 July 2021). "CBC Sports Oral Histories: How a Canadian sailor became an Olympic hero". CBC Sports Longform. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  6. ^ Fulton, B. (1996). The Summer Olympics: A Treasury of Legend and Lore. G – Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Diamond Communications. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-912083-99-5. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  7. ^ Jones, T.A.; Jones, S. (1996). The Heart of a Champion: Powerful Readings Based on Inspiring Athletes and Great Biblical Themes. Daily Power Series. Discipleship Publications International. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-884553-93-6. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  8. ^ Scrivener, Peter (8 August 2008). "Olympics 2008 blog". BBC SPORT. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  9. ^ Duncan, Contact (14 March 2013). "Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux was in second place and poised to win an Olympic medal in the Finn class at Seoul 1988 when he abandoned the race to save Singapore rivals Joseph Chan and Siew Shaw Her, competing in the 470 class, which was sharing the co". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  10. ^ Boekhoff, Iain (17 August 2016). "Six moments when the podium took a back seat to the Olympic spirit". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  11. ^ Higgins, Marissa (19 August 2016). "What Is A Pierre de Coubertin Medal? This Rare Olympic Prize Celebrates Sportsmanship". Bustle. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  12. ^ Lewis, Danny (19 August 2016). "This Olympic Medal Is Even Harder to Win Than the Gold". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Pierre de Coubertin medal: All you should know about the fourth medal". India Today. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  14. ^ Conradt, Stacy (12 September 2021). "The Fourth Type of Olympic Medal and 5 People Who Have Won It". Mental Floss. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  15. ^ Strong, Gregory (13 August 2024). "Lemieux's sportsmanship story from 1988 Seoul Games featured in new Olympic book". Toronto Star. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  16. ^ The Canadian Olympic Committee (21 June 2013). "Top-10 moments of Olympic sportsmanship". Team Canada – Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  17. ^ "LEON STUKELJ AWARDED IOC MEDAL POSTHUMOUSLY". Olympics.com. 11 November 1999. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  18. ^ Dong-hee, Hwang (20 October 2022). "In a first for Korea, sports photographer Kim Min-jae receives Pierre de Coubertin medal". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  19. ^ Praderio, Caroline (23 August 2016). "There are 2 prestigious awards named for the founder of the modern Olympic movement – here are 8 athletes who have won them". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  20. ^ "The story of Larry Lemieux, the unsung hero of the 1988 Summer Games". CBC. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
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