By Canadian Press

Olympic gold medals won by Percy Williams to be replaced 43 years after theft

Feb 24, 2023 | 3:09 AM

VANCOUVER — The family of a historic Canadian Olympian is set to receive a pair of new gold medals Friday, more than 40 years after the originals won by sprinter Percy Williams disappeared.

Williams took first place in the 100 and 200-metre races at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, becoming just the third athlete in history to win both events.

The Vancouver native’s medals were donated to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and were on display when they were stolen in 1980. They were never recovered.

Williams’ family requested the medals be replaced, and the Canadian Olympic Committee worked with the International Olympic Committee to recreate them based on specifications from the 1928 Games.

Newly minted medals will be presented to the family on Friday before being donated to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame as part of a new display about the sprinter’s legacy.

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Williams, who died in 1982, was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1949 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1955 before being made an Officer of Canada in 1979.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2023.

The Canadian Press