Exceptionally rare silver winner’s medal issued to West German skier Frank Worndl for "Alpine Skiing, Men Slalom" at the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics. Silver, 70 mm, 191 gm, designed by Peter Friedrich and struck by Jostens. The front depicts combined profiles of a laureated athlete and a First Nations indigenous person whose headdress is formed by winter sporting equipment; the reverse bears the stylized snowflake/maple leaf emblem of the Games and the Olympic rings at the center, with surrounding raised bilingual text: "XVes Jeux Olympiques d'hiver, XV Olympic Games, Calgary 1988.” The edge of the medal is engraved in English and French with the name of the event: “Alpine Skiing Men Slalom.” The medal, which exhibits some wear and toning, includes its cyan, red, and blue ribbon (ends not sewn together) and original blue velvet case.
After subpar results at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, German alpine skier Frank Worndl (born 1959) returned to Olympic competition as a favorite eight years later. Worndl, a slalom world champion at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 1987, turned in two amazing slalom runs and earned a spot on the winner’s podium, taking silver and missing out on a gold medal by .007 seconds. An exceedingly rare silver winner’s medal awarded to one of the most successful German alpine skiers in history.
