Sports Items

Magnificent and historic relic comes from the daughter of American diver Marshall Wayne, a fascinating figure who would later battle the Nazis as a US fighter pilot after first disappointing Hitler by outshining his German divers in Berlin. While any artifact from this most important of modern Olympics carries tremendous collecting appeal, the offering of a Gold Medal, particularly from an American athlete, is an occasion worthy of great interest. Wayne earned this most coveted of athletic awards for a first place showing in 10 meter platform diving, then called simply "High Diving." Fellow American Elbert Root took second place honors, with the German Hermann Stork forced to settle for Bronze. The medal exhibits a degree of wear from its seven decades of proud display but still presents beautifully, with laurel-wreathed athletes dominating both obverse and reverse, the former emblazoned with the text, "XI Olympiade Berlin 1936." Some adhesive (from a previous display of the piece) has been professionally removed from the reverse of the medal, and a very minor amount of the gold plating was unavoidably lost in the process. The display box also exhibits some overall wear, but is still intact and very presentable. Description courtesy of Heritage Galleries.

Includes a letter of confirmation from Wayne's daughter, Marilyn.

Please contact wayne@lewiswaynegallery.com if you require any additional information about this piece.