A look back at highlights from Monaco’s Olympic Games history
Prince Albert II took part in the bobsleigh event at five Olympic Winter Games: Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002. (Photo all rights reserved)
The Monegasque delegation is preparing to take part in a new Olympiad in a few months’ time at the Paris 2024 Games (26 July-11 August).
This summer, a handful of athletes will be flying the Principality’s flag in Paris, three years after the Tokyo Olympics, which you will remember were postponed for a year, and where five athletes competed along with Xiao Xin Yang, flag-bearer for the Monegasque delegation in Japan.
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Twelve of them are still hoping to make the short trip to try and shine in Paris, and why not help Monaco win its first officially recognised Olympic medal (see end of article).
Before we begin our special series “On the road to Paris 2024”, which will take a behind-the-scenes look at the competing athletes’ preparation, let’s remind ourselves of the key dates in Monaco’s history at the Olympic Games.
Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games: where it all began
Monaco made its first appearance at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.
The first flag bearer in history was 100m specialist Edmond Médecin, who led a delegation of four athletes in total (Emile Barral, Joseph Crovetto, Michel Porasso and himself).
The Principality did not take part in the Winter Olympics until 1984 and the Sarajevo Games in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Calgary 1988 Olympic Games: Début participation for Prince Albert II
A member of the International Olympic Committee since 1986, the then Hereditary Prince competed in bobsleigh at five Winter Olympic Games.
The first was in Calgary in 1988, where Albert Grimaldi was the flag bearer. Partnered by Gilbert Bessi, the 2-man bob team finished twenty-fifth.
It was the first of five Olympiads for Prince Albert II, who went on to take part in the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, 1998 Nagano and 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
2006 Turin Olympic Games: The princely couple makes it official
Although Charlene Wittstock and Prince Albert II first met at a swimming competition in 2000, before celebrating their marriage in 2011, the 2006 Winter Olympics will go down as a defining moment in the history of the princely couple, since it was at the opening ceremony in Turin that they officially announced their relationship.
A few years earlier, Princess Charlène took part in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as part of the women’s 4 × 100 m medley team, representing South Africa in the backstroke. Her team finished fifth in the event.
London 2012 Olympic Games: a promising edition
The British games saw the largest Monegasque Olympic delegation, in terms of number of athletes, since the 1988 Summer Olympics.
There were six in all, in six different disciplines (Angélique Trinquier, Hervé Banti, Brice Etèes, Damien Desprat-Lerale, Mathias Raymond and Yann Siccardi). This was also the size of the delegation at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Swimmer Angélique Trinquier was flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. It was a historic Games for the Principality, with Yann Siccardi taking ninth place in the under-60 kg judo event.
Beijing 2022 Olympic Games: the best result to date
It was a historic Olympiad for Monaco. And symbolically, in the discipline where the Principality and Prince Albert II shone.
Competing in the bobsleigh, Rudy Rinaldi and Boris Vain took sixth place, a historic result as it is quite simply the best result by athletes from the Monegasque delegation in an Olympiad, whether summer or winter.
It was an unforgettable performance, as Prince Albert II was quick to stress. “I told them that I was very happy and that they were all the more deserving because they didn’t have an easy journey,” he said.
“Both boys were plagued by physical issues over the last two seasons, and they had to go through a more demanding qualification system than the World Cup. When you know how hard a task that is, it’s a truly exceptional performance!”
Did you know?
To date, Monaco has won just one medal at the Olympic Games.
In 1924, the architect Julien Médecin was awarded a bronze medal for his design of the Stade de Monte-Carlo in Fontvieille, which included a cycle track, rugby and football pitches and a swimming pool.
Artistic medals are not included in the official games medal tally, which explains why Monaco still has no Olympic medals to its name.
As a reminder, the Monaco Olympic Committee was founded in 1907 and recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1953.