Rare winner's medal awarded to Russian javelin thrower Sergey Makarov at the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. Bronze, 70 mm, 166 gm, by Wojciech Pietranik and Brian Thompson; manufactured by the Royal Australian Mint. The front depicts a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background; the reverse portrays the Olympic rings over the iconic Sydney Opera House, with the Sydney Olympic torch at right, inscribed in the upper and lower rim, "Athletics, Men’s Javelin Throw." Medal features instances of scuffing and pitting. Complete with the original blue ribbon embroidered in silver with the legend “Sydney 2000”; the ribbon also bears the bronze winner’s medal pin and a Russian coat of arms pin with a central diamond. Accompanied by a color satin-finish 8 x 6 photo of Makarov holding the Russian flag during the Sydney Games, signed on the front in blue felt tip by Makarov, who has also signed and inscribed the reverse, “Jim, I wish you good luck, Sergey Makarov,” who signs again in Cyrillic.
After placing sixth at the 1996 Atlanta Games, Sergey Makarov returned to Olympic competition in Sydney and earned a bronze medal finish with a throw of 88.67 m, the best distance he ever recorded in 15 years of major international competition. He set the Russian record in 2002 with a throw of 92.61 m, and two years after that, returned to the Olympic Games in Athens to claim his second bronze medal. Moreover, Makarov is the son of Aleksandr Makarov, the silver medalist in the javelin at the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics, and the husband of Oksana Ovchinnikova, who competed in the women's javelin throw at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics.
Provenance: Heritage Auctions, August 2018.
