Stunning winner’s medal awarded for baseball at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. Gilt silver, 61 mm, 147 gm, by Elena Votsi and Kostas Kazakos. The front depicts the winged goddess of Victory soaring into the Panathinaikos Stadium, with Greek characters and Olympic rings above; the reverse features the Eternal Flame of Olympia, the opening lines of Pindar's Eighth Olympic Ode, and the 2004 Summer Games logo, with the sport engraved in Greek lettering along the bottom, “Μπέιζμπολ Aνδρών [Men's Baseball].” Completed by the original multicolored ribbon, with a Cuban emblem pin and Athens 2004 pin attached. The highly attractive medal exhibits only minor edgewear. Accompanied by a participant pin from the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, housed in its white vinyl Bertoni pouch, which exhibits some wear.
The Cuban Olympic baseball team displayed a formidable combination of pitching prowess, defensive excellence, and offensive firepower at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, losing only one game in the tournament en route to a gold medal victory. The 2004 Athens winner’s medals replaced the long-held ‘seated Victory’ design by Giuseppe Cassioli, rectifying the mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue.
