The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Traditionally, the IOC bestows the Olympic Order upon the chief national organiser(s) at the closing ceremony of each respective Olympic Games.
History The Olympic Order was established in May 1975 by the International Olympic Committee as a successor to the Olympic Diploma of Merit. The Olympic Order originally had three grades (gold, silver and bronze). In 1984, at the 87th IOC Session in Sarajevo (Yugoslavia), it was decided that there would be no distinction between the silver and bronze order.
Design The insignia of the Olympic Order is in the form of a collar (or chain), in Gold, Silver or Bronze according to grade; the front of the chain depicts the five rings of the Olympic Movement, flanked on either side by kotinos emblem (olive wreath). A lapel badge, in the form of miniature five rings and kotinos in Gold, Silver and Bronze according to grade, is presented to recipients to wear as appropriate.
Recipients
The following is a list of recipients of the Olympic Order. Some no longer have their orders, as they have been withdrawn.
Gold Olympic Order Year Recipient Country Note 1975 Avery Brundage 1980 Lord Killanin 1981 Lord Exeter Pope John Paul II Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow King Olav V 1983 Indira Gandhi 1984 Ahmad Shah of Pahang Branko Mikulić François Mitterrand Peter Ueberroth 1985 Nicolae Ceauşescu Erich Honecker King Juan Carlos I 1986 Wan Li 1987 King Bhumibol Adulyadej General Kenan Evren Todor Zhivkov 1988 Prince Rainier III Prince Bertil Bernadotte Frank Walter King Mario Vázquez Raña Park Seh-jik 1989 Raoul Mollet Emperor Akihito Rafael Hernández Colón 1990 Giulio Andreotti 1991 Jean de Beaumont Yoshiaki Tsutsumi Willi Daume 1992 Pasqual Maragall Carlos Arthur Nuzman Michel Barnier Javier Gómez-Navarro José Miguel Abad Jean-Claude Killy Jordi Pujol Leopoldo Rodés Carlos Salinas de Gotari Narcís Serra Javier Solana 1993 Boris Yeltsin 1994 Gerhard Heiberg Richard von Weizsäcker Nelson Mandela Joaquín Leguina Mauno Koivisto King Harald V of Norway Queen Sonja of Norway 1995 Árpád Göncz Robert Mugabe 1996 Billy Payne Konstantinos Stephanopoulos Adolphus Drewery Andrew Young Islam Karimov 1997 Blaise Compaore Omar Bongo Nursultan Nazarbaev Elias Hrawi Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Léon Aleksander Kwaśniewski Suleyman Demirel 1998 Kim Dae-jung Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Eishiro Saito 1999 Eduard Shevardnadze 2000 Adolf Ogi Lowitja O'Donoghue John Coates 2001 Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said Goh Chok Tong Vladimir Putin Withdrawn on 28 February 2022 Juan Antonio Samaranch Abdoulaye Wade 2002 Fraser Bullock Jacques Chirac Kéba Mbaye Mitt Romney Irwin Belk 2003 Emile Lahoud John Howard 2004 Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki Costas Karamanlis Abdelaziz Bouteflika Johannes Rau Martinos Simitsek 2005 Theodore Angelopoulos 2006 Valentino Castellani 2007 Kofi Annan 2008 Liu Qi 2009 Jack Poole Posthumously awarded 2010 S. R. Nathan Lee Hsien Loong John Furlong 2012 Lord Coe Lord Deighton 2013 King Willem-Alexander Count Jacques Rogge King Felipe VI Pope Francis Xi Jinping 2014 Dmitry Chernyshenko Withdrawn on 28 February 2022 Dmitry Kozak Withdrawn on 28 February 2022 2015 Margareta of Romania 2016 Carlos Arthur Nuzman 2018 Lee Hee-beom Fernando Botero Moon Jae-in Mauricio Macri 2020 Prokopis Pavlopoulos Shinzo Abe 2021 Seiko Hashimoto Yoshihide Suga Yuriko Koike 2022 Sun Chunlan Cai Qi Andrzej Duda 2024 Tony Estanguet Emmanuel Macron 2025 Thomas Bach 2026 Sergio Mattarella Giorgia Meloni
Silver Olympic Order Year Recipient Country Note 1975 Mr. Ryotaro Azuma Mr. Miguel de Capriles Lieutenant-Colonel Rudyard Russell 1976 Mr. Paul Anspach Mr. Harold Austad Mr. Albert Demaurex Mr. Dan Ferris Mr. Jesse Owens Mr. Héctor Paysse Reyes Mr. Walter Wülfing 1977 Colonel Sir Michael Ansell Mrs. Inger Frith / Mr. Sven Låftman Mr. Anselmo López Rudolf Nemetschke Mr. Seiji Tabata 1978 Prince Bertil Bernadotte Bâtonnier René Bondoux Colonel Domingos de Sousa Mr. Falih Fahmi Mr. John Emrys Lloyd Mr. Adriano Rodoni Mr. Mario Vázquez Raña 1979 Haj Omar Boucetta General Gustaf Dyrssen Mr. Mikio Oda Er. Harold Madison Wright 1980 Professor Arnold H. Beckett Er. Pablo Cagnasso Mr. Franco Carraro Mr. Benito Castejón Mr. Claude Collard Professor Albert Dirix Sir Denis Follows Mr. Sydney Grange Mr. Kurt Hasler Mr. Frederick Holder Lord Howell Colonel Raoul Mollet Mr. Renato William Jones Mr. Ignati Novikov Mr. Charles Palmer Mr. Henri Pouret Mr. Amilcare Rotta Mr. Anton Skataretiko Mr. Bertil Sallfors Mr. Yoshiyuki Tsuruta 1981 Mr. Gérard d'Aboville Mr. Roone Arledge Mr. Jacinto Balleste Mr. Rafael Barquero Chaves Mr. Árpád Bogsch Mr. Charles de Coquereaumont Mr. David Coward Max Danz Mr. Jean-Pascal Delamuraz Mr. Henry Joseph Dieme Mr. Bo Ekelund Mr. Pierre Ferri Mr. Jacques Goddet Mr. Gísli Halldórsson Harold W. Henning Mrs. Hideko Hyodo Mr. Enrikas Juskhevitsus Mr. Kurt Møller Ms. Elena Mukhina Mr. Desmond O'Sullivan Mr. Adriaan Paulen Mr. Adriano Rodoni Mr. Abdel Moneim Wahby 1982 Prince Franz Joseph II Mr. František Kroutil Mr. Paavo Mikko Honkajuuri Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda Mr. José Beracasa Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX General Sven Thofelt Mr. Avinash Chandra Chatterji Mr. José Ramón Fernández Mr. Haim Glowinsky Mr. Ichiro Hatta Mr. Clarence H. Johnson Mr. Robert Kane Mr. Alois Lugger Mr. Fernando Luis Pereira Machado Mr. Paul-Rene Martin Mr. Trendafil Martinski Mr. Edgar Mercier Mr. László Papp Mr. João Carlos de Oliveira Mr. Giovanni Romagna Mr. Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales Mr. Angel Solakov Mr. Habib Thiam Mr. Jukka Uunila 1983 Mr. Kouassi Angama Mr. Georges Athanassiadis Sir Gerald Cash Arpad Csanadi Mrs. Betty Cuthbert Mr. Eduardo Dibos Mr. Laurent Dona-Fologo Lieutenant-General Marin Dragnea Mr. Jean Drapeau Mrs. Ilona Elek Mr. Massoud Ahmded El-Zantouti Mr. Manfred Ewald Mrs. Marie-Thérèse Eyquem Mr. Sisto Favre Mr. Edgar Fried Abdel Halim Muhammad Mr. Kim Taik-soo Mrs. Galina Kulakova Mr. Leopoldo de Leon Mr. Aleksandr Medved Mr. Roger Menard Mr. Chūhei Nambu Mr. Robert F. Osborne Mr. Javier Ostos Mr. Julius Lockington Patching Mr. Berge Philips Mr. Gaotang Rong Mr. Victor Saneev Mr. Katsuji Shibata Mr. Sergei Chalibashvili Mrs. Lidiya Skoblikova 1984 Mr. Abdelhamid Rachdi Alami Mr. Abílio Ferreira d'Almeida Mr. Luis Azemar Puig de la Bellacasa Mr. Motohiko Ban Mrs. Herma Bauma Mr. Bo Bengston Mr. Jean Borotra Mr. Paolo Cappabianca Mr. Juan José Castillo Mr. Harry H. Cavan Ms. Nadia Comăneci Mr. George Craig Beppe Croce Mr. Sandy Duncan Mr. Suat Erler Mr. Rene Frank Mr. Akira Fujita Mr. Antonin Himl Mr. Pierre Hirschy Mr. Bert Isatitsch Mr. Pal Kovacs Mr. Paul Libaud Mr. Hero Lupescu Colonel F. Don Miller Mr. Julio Enrique Monagas Mr. Hadj Ibrahim Mbomba Njoya Mr. Renzo Nostini Mr. Fred B. Oberlander Mr. Nelson Paillou Mr. Marian Renke Mr. Walter J.M.A. von Rosberg Mr. Zhong Shitong Mr. Olegário Vazquez Rafia Mrs. Helene Ahrweiler Mr. Abdul Hameed Al-Hajji Mr. Aldo Bergamaschi Mr. Fred Blay Mr. Emeric Blum Mr. Tom Bradley Mr. Gian-Carlo Brusati Mr. Miroslav Cerar Mr. Alain Danet Mr. Horst Dassler Mr. Abdelaziz Elshafei Mr. Milan Ercegan Mr. Shunji Fujii Mr. Knolly Henderson Mr. Paul Högberg Mr. Samwel Mbogo Kamau Mr. Ahmed Karabegovic Mr. Kenjiro Mizuno Mr. Primo Nebiolo Mr. Günther Sabetzki Mr. Keith Shervington Mr. Baghadi Si-Mohamed Mr. Anto Sucic Mr. Artur Takac Mr. Stanko Tomic Mr. Harry Usher Mr. Uglijesa Uzelac Mr. Paul Ziffren 1985 Sir Adetokunbo Ademola Mr. Alexa Haralambie Sheikh Isa bin Rashed Al Kalifa Mr. Hanji Aoki Mr. Abdel Azim Ashry Mr. Tsegaw Ayele Mr. Edmund W. Barker Mr. Domenico Bruschi Mrs. Christine Caron Mr. Bud Greenspan Mr. Józef Grudzień Mr. Hermann Jannsen Mr. John B. Kelly Jr. Mr. Ferdinand Siregar Mangombar Mr. Kenkichi Oshima Lord Porritt Mr. Bedřich Poula Mr. Ludwig Prokop Mr. André Gustavo Richer Mr. Raimundo Saporta Mr. William Simon Mr. Borislav Stanković Mr. Josep Lluís Vilaseca Mr. Walter Wasservogel Mr. Jean Weymann Mr. Lev Yashin 1986 Mr. Carlos Osório de Almeida Mr. Lachezar Avramov Mr. Mahmoud Ba Mr. Bernhard Baier Mrs. Liselotl Diem Mr. Justin Durand Mr. Issac Froimovich Mr. Julio Gerlcin Comelin Mr. Carlos de Godó Mr. Roberto C. Goizueta Mr. Boris Gueorguiev Mr. Cornelius Kerdel Mr. Antoine Khoui Mr. Jean-Arnould Leew Air Vice Marshal C. L. Metha Mr. Nikolaos Nissiotis Mr.John Akii-Bua Mr. Pedro Perez Duenas Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Qaatabi Mr. Max Rinkenburger Mr. Douglas F. Roby Mr. Julian K. Roosevelt Mr. Roger Rousseau Mr. Ricardo José Russomando Mr. Andrey Starovoytov Mr. William Thayer Tutt Mr. Tadeusz Ulatowski Mr. Georges Vichos Mr. George Wieczisk Mr. Huang Zhong 1987 Mr. Francisco Ferreira Alves Mr. Abdel Moneim El Bah Mr. Boris Bakrač Mr. John Joseph Brown Mr. Gavrila Barani Mr. Ramiro Tavares Gonçalves Mr. Rudolf Hellmann Mr. Chen Jingkai Mr. Alberto Juantorena Mr. Todor Zhivkov Mr. Erich Kamper Mr. L. N. Khurana Mr. Jean-Claude Killy Mr. Philip Othmar Krumm Colonel Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Mr. Li Menghua Mr. Geoffrey de Navacelle Mr. Sergio Orsi Mr. Lassina Palenfo Mr. Marcel Pasche Mr. Janusz Przedpełski Mr. Haluk San Mr. Teofilo Stevenson Mr. Vladimir Stoychev Mr. Leon Štukelj Mr. Brian Wightman 1988 Mr. Ruben Acosta Mr. Constantin Andrianov Mr. Francisco Alguersuari Durán Mrs. Eileen Anderson Mr. Juan José Castillo Mr. Reiner Klimke Mr. Juan de la Llera Trens Mr. Bill Pratt Mr. Fernando Riba Mr. Anisio Silva Rocha Joszef Sir Katarina Witt Ralph Klein Jerzy Kukuczka Antonio Mariscal Josef Neckermann Jasdev Singh Taieb Houichi Ante Lambasa Wolf Lyberg Frederick Ruegsegger 1989 Larisa Latynina 1990 Ivan Patzaichin Reizo Koike Naoto Tajima 1992 Ludovit Komadel Jesús Alfonso Elizondo Nájera 1994 Vladimir Krivtsov Shane Gould 1995 Eddy Merckx Miguel Indurain Jerald M. Jordan 1997 Karl Lennartz Oscar Schmidt Ian Buchanan 1998 Alexander Gomelsky Geoffrey Henke Makoto Kobayashi Tasuku Tsukada Goro Yoshimura Joan Creus 1999 Brian Tobin Prince Abdul Hakeem Jefri Bolkiah 2000 Prof. Lowitja O'Donoghue Norman May 2001 Ton Bijkerk Harry Gordon Cathy Freeman Bill Mallon Kazuyoshi Funaki Bjørn Dæhlie 2002 Peter Montgomery Shoichi Tomita 2003 Mool Chand Chowhan 2004 Robert Kocharian 2007 Marjorie Jackson-Nelson 2008 He Zhenliang Liu Jingmin Deng Pufang Chen Zhili 2010 Teo Chee Hean Ng Eng Hen Vivian Balakrishnan Tan Eng Liang Chris Chan Goh Kee Nguan Francis Chong Eric Tan Huck Gim Les McDonald Michael A. Chambers Nodar Kumaritashvili Posthumously awarded 2011 Fernando Lima Bello Kip Keino Vilnis Baltiņš 2012 Gary Anderson Sir Keith Mills Lord Moynihan Eiichi Kawatei 2015 Lord Tevita Poasi Tupou Irina Viner 2016 Edson Arantes do Nascimento Ilse Bechthold Julio Maglione Anton Geesink Posthumously awarded Reynaldo González López Posthumously awarded Peter Tallberg Posthumously awarded Risto Nieminen Vlade Divac Narayana Ramachandran 2018 Yeo Hyung-koo Kim Jae-youl Kim Joo-ho 2021 Toshirō MutōHashimoto, Suga, Koike to Receive IOC's Olympic Order in Gold JIJI.COM August 9, 2021 2022 Gou Zhongwen Chen Jining Wang Zhengpu Zhang Jiandong Han Zirong 2024 Anne Hidalgo Valérie Pécresse Amélie Oudéa-Castéra Patrick Ollier Stéphane Troussel Michel Cadot Marc Guillaume Étienne Thobois Michaël Aloïsio
Bronze Olympic Order