Two bronze medals issued for the Chicago 1959 Pan American Games: a third place winner’s medal, 54 gm, 51 mm, with the front featuring the city seal of Chicago, raised text, “Third Pan American Games, Chicago 1959,” and a map of the Western Hemisphere with a star marking the location of the Games, and the reverse depicting a torch and laurel wreath with engraved text: “3rd, 400 M, Athletics Men”; and a participation medal, 55 gm, 51 mm, with the front design the same as the winner’s medal, and the reverse reading “Commemorative” above a torch and an outline of downtown Chicago.
The 3rd place winner’s medal would have been presented to Malcolm Spence, a Jamaican athlete running for the British West Indies. He placed third in the men's 400 meter event with a time of 46.6, but he and his brother Mel were part of the team that won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 meter relay. A year later at the Rome 1960 Summer Olympics, Mal won a bronze medal in the men's 4 x 400 meter relay.
