Scarce winner's medal awarded to Slovak ice hockey goaltender Vladimír Dzurilla at the Innsbruck 1964 Winter Olympics. Bronze, 70 mm, 138 gm, by M. Coufal, Vienna. The front, inscribed, "Olympische Winterspiele IX," features the Innsbruck Olympic emblem; the reverse identifies the sport as hockey, "Eishockey," with raised text, "Innsbruck 1964," over a large jagged mountain. Complete with original red-and-white ribbon and leather presentation case with gilt Innsbruck Games emblem to lid. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity, which asserts that the medal derives from the collection of the Dzurilla family.
A refrigerator repairman by profession, Dzurilla (1942-1995) played goalie for the Czechoslovak national team for over 16 years, winning one silver and two bronze Olympic medals, and three gold, three silver, and four bronze medals at Ice Hockey World Championships. He was posthumously inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1998. This attractive bronze medal is one of only 70 issued at the Innsbruck Olympic Games, making it quite uncommon, and as an example awarded for ice hockey—one of the most popular winter sports—it is of the utmost desirability.
