58 - Athens, 2004, Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, Olympic bronze medal awarded to an Italian athlete. Diameter 60.00 mm – Weight gr. 115.00

Athens, 2004, Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, Olympic bronze medal awarded to an Italian athlete. Diameter 60.00 mm – Weight gr. 115.00 The Olympic medal is the main prize awarded to athletes who place in the first three places in an Olympic competition. On the occasion of the return of the Olympic Games to Greece, where they were born, the IOC decides to prepare a new coin for the most prestigious of sports medals. What's new is that the Greek character is displayed on both sides, with the medals changing for the first time since the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. This is highly significant, as from then on, the medals represented the Greek character, both because of the Games' origins and their return. From 1928 until the Sydney Games, the medals (designed by Florentine sculptor Giuseppe Cassioli) featured a static allegory of Victory, in the act of offering a laurel wreath to the winner. Here, Nike flies into the stadium to award victory to the best athlete. The Organizing Committee chose to depict the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Games were revived in 1896. The athlete's discipline is engraved on one side. The other features three elements: the eternal flame lit at Olympia and carried to five continents via the torch relay; the opening of Pindar's Ode to the Eighth Olympiad composed in 460 BC to honor the victory of Alkimedon of Aegina in wrestling, and the emblem of the 2004 Athens Games. The medal design is by Elena Votsi, a famous Greek jewelry designer. The bronze specimen presented here belonged to an Italian national football team member. Buoyed by their European title won in Bochum in May, the Italian Olympic team, coached by Claudio Gentile, won the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics. Italy's last title came in 1936, when they won the gold medal in Berlin. Defeated in the semifinals by a resounding Argentina (who would go on to win the gold medal), the Azzurrini won the third-place play-off, defeating Iraq 1-0. Medal of absolute rarity and prestige, complete with the long original embroidered fabric ribbon.