The front is decorated with a victorious athlete holding skates and skis high in the air with the Alps in the background; The reverse has the inscription in French: "Chamonix Mont-Blanc Sports D'Hiver, 25 Janvier-5 Fevrier 1924, Organises par le Comité Olympique Français sous le haut patronage du Comité International Olympique à l'occasion de la celebration de la VIII Olympiade [Chamonix Mont-Blanc winter sports, 25 January-5 February 1924, organised by the French Olympic Committee under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee in celebration of the VIII Olympiad]." The edge is stamped "Bronze". Diameter 5 cm. A photo is included.
Minor surface wear on the patina.
Nils "Molle" Molander (1889-1974), collection.
Subsequently inherited.
Molander was one of the first two known Swedish ice hockey players (forward) and played club ice hockey in Germany from 1912 to 1928 for Berliner SC (German champions 10 times during those years). In 1920 and 1924, he participated in the Swedish national team during the Olympics. In total, Nils Molander played 23 matches for the Swedish national team and scored 24 goals. He became the first in Swedish ice hockey to receive the Great Guys' badge (now the Great Guys' and Girls' badge) accordingly with number 1. In 2012, he was inducted into the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame as number 21.
Molander also competed in speed skating and represented Denmark in 1914 at the European Speed Skating Championships in Berlin in the 500 meters.
The 1924 Chamonix Games were the very first Winter Olympics and a total of sixteen nations were represented. The participation medal of the Chamonix 1924 Winter Games is identical to the Olympiad's third place bronze winner's medal, a unique distinction across all Olympic medals; it subsequently exists as one of the very rarest commemoration prizes, equal to other coveted participatory rarities from Olympic Games in St. Louis (Summer 1904), Lake Placid (Winter 1932), and Stockholm (Summer 1956). Only 294 athletes participated, making any Chamonix medal very rare.