Fourth Type of Olympic Medal

In addition to the gold, silver, and bronze there is another Olympic award that is even harder to obtain. The Pierre de Coubertin medal, inaugurated in 1964 and named in honor of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, is given to athletes, former athletes, sports promoters, sporting officials and others who exemplify the spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events or through exceptional service to the Olympic movement.

Unlike the sporting medals, the de Coubertin medal is not awarded at every cycle of the Games. It is only handed out when the International Olympic Committee determines someone has truly earned it.

In January, just ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea IOC president Thomas Bach bestowed the award upon Chinese artist Lv Junjie, a master of Zisha (means "purple clay,"), an ancient type of clay that is used to create teaware and other small objects. Bach commended Junjie, because of his work using Zisha, or Yixing clay to spread the Olympic spirit. Many of his creations contain Olympic art.