The Olympic Games held in the summer of 1920 saw the Principality compete for the first time (in athletics and gymnastics), going on to compete in all the Winter Olympic Games since 1984. Monaco has won just one medal at the Olympic Games so far.
The architect Julien Médecin was awarded a bronze medal in 1924 for his design of the Stade de Monte-Carlo in Fontvieille, which included a cycle track, rugby and football pitches and a swimming pool. In those days, Baron de Coubertin was the driving force behind a revival of the Games, seeking to recover “the time of Olympia’s splendour…when the arts and literature joined with sport to ensure the greatness of the Olympic Games.” This “Pentathlon of the Muses” (architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture) ended in 1948. Unfortunately, these artistic medals were not, and are still not, included in the official all-time Olympic Games medal table.
In sporting terms, Monaco’s best performances so far have been at the Winter Olympics. In 2022, bobsledders Rudy Rinaldi and Boris Vain took a respectable 6th place, while skier Arnaud Alessandria finished 13th in the Alpine combined.
At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Monaco will be rooting for all six of its athletes who have been selected to compete in five disciplines: Marie-Charlotte Gastaud (athletics, 100 metres), Quentin Antognelli (rowing, single scull), Lisa Pou (marathon swimming, 10 kilometres), Xiaoxin Yang (table tennis), Théo Druenne (swimming, 800 metres freestyle) and Marvin Gadeau (judo). “I appreciate the hard work and passion it has taken from every single one of you to achieve this high level of performance. We will be there by your side to support you throughout the competition”, encouraged Prince Albert II, President of the Monegasque Olympic Committee (COM). Swimmers Lisa Pou and Théo Druenne will be the flag-bearers for the Monegasque Olympic team in Paris 2024.
Monaco hosted the first “Women’s Olympiad” competitions between 1921 and 1923, heralding the start of women’s participation in the Olympic Games. Competitors in the first “Olympics of Grace” represented England, France, Italy and Switzerland in athletics, basketball, and swimming, as well as dance and rhythmic gymnastics. Held at the foot of the Monte-Carlo casino, the site of the pigeon shoot was “miraculously transformed into a mini stadium”. Today, the terrace designed by the artist Vasarely still bears the memory of these women’s competitions that left a mark on the history of sport.
The Princely Family of Monaco has a special connection with the Olympics. Prince Albert II of Monaco was a member of the Monegasque bobsleigh team at five Olympic Games: Calgary in 1988, Albertville in 1992, Lillehammer in 1994, Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002, and his wife, Princess Charlène, competed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000. “This passion stems from our family heritage”, Prince Albert II told Paris Match. His grandfather Jack Kelly was the Olympic rowing champion in 1920 and 1924, and his uncle John Jr was a bronze medallist in rowing during the 1956 Melbourne Games. Prince Albert of Monaco has been an IOC member since 1986, as were his father Rainier III and his grandfather Pierre de Polignac before him.
The Olympic flame passed through the Principality of Monaco ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, making it the second time the flame has passed through Monaco since the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics. Six athletes took their turn from Port Hercule: Formula 1 champion Charles Leclerc, skier Alexandra Coletti, table tennis player Xiaoxin Yang and bobsleigh racer Rudy Rinaldi, who passed the flame to the Prince and Princess in the Place du Palais.
Prince Albert II carried the Olympic flame for the first time in 1996 at the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games in the United States and then on nine other occasions at both the Summer and Winter Games. Princess Charlène represented her native South Africa at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
In June 2024, Monaco hosted the rugby sevens repechage tournament for Paris 2024, where the Chinese women’s team and the South African men’s team both secured their places at the Olympic Games. The Louis II Stadium had previously hosted the final qualifying rounds ahead of the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
In addition to the Olympic Games, the Principality is represented at international competitions such as the Mediterranean Games and the Jeux de la Francophonie. A true land of sport, the Principality has hosted some of the world’s top sporting events for over a century, such as the Rolex Masters Tennis Monte-Carlo, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the E-Prix, the Monte-Carlo Rally, and the Herculis meeting.
To find out more, visit: https://www.comite-olympique.mc/
