Rare sample bronze winner’s medal for the Squaw Valley 1960 Winter Olympics. Bronze, 57 mm, 90 gm, by Herff Jones, Indiana. The front features embossed heads of male and female athletes in profile, with bold text: “VII Olympic, Winter Games”; and the reverse is encircled with raised text of the Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” and the sport, “Biathlon,” and the center stamped “Sample” below the Olympic rings in relief. Edge is engraved, "H. J. CO."
The Squaw Valley 1960 Winter Olympics hosted the first appearance of modern biathlon in the Olympic Games, which consisted of one event that was held at McKinney Creek Stadium, Tahoma, California, on February 21, 1960. 30 athletes from nine nations competed, with Sweden’s Klas Lestander, Finland’s Antti Tyrvainen, and the Soviet Union’s Aleksandr Privalov taking the top three prizes.
