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Luxembourg at the Olympics

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Luxembourg at the
Olympics
IOC codeLUX
NOCLuxembourg Olympic and Sporting Committee
Websitewww.teamletzebuerg.lu (in French)
Medals
Ranked 96th
Gold
1
Silver
3
Bronze
0
Total
4
Summer appearances
Winter appearances

Luxembourg's National Olympic Committee, the Luxembourg Olympic and Sporting Committee, was founded in 1912 and sent its first team to the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.

Only two athletes won medals competing for Luxembourg in the Summer Olympics: weightlifter Joseph Alzin, silver in 1920, and runner Josy Barthel, gold in 1952. In the late 20th-century, it was discovered that runner Michel Théato, whose gold medal in marathon at the 1900 Games was previously given to France, was actually Luxembourgish.[1] Although Théato moved to Paris and lived there until his death in 1923, there is no record that he ever filed for French citizenship. Nevertheless, as he represented a French club, his participation and gold medal are credited to France by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).[2][3]

Luxembourg first competed at the Winter Olympic Games in 1928, and has taken part in a total of 11 Winter Games. Thus, despite having been one of the earliest countries to take part, Luxembourg has competed in relatively few of the Games. To date, Luxembourg has won a total of two medals: both silver, and won by Marc Girardelli in 1992.

After Luxembourg's first appearance, in St. Moritz, and the country's second appearance, at the 1936 Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Luxembourg did not compete at the Winter Olympics for another five decades. As a low-lying country, whose highest peak (the Kneiff) lies only 560 metres (1,837 ft) above sea level, Luxembourg had little pedigree in most Winter Olympic sports.

However, the naturalisation of Marc Girardelli, an Austrian-born alpine skier, saw Luxembourg return to the Games in 1988. In the following Winter Olympics, in 1992 in Albertville, Girardelli won Luxembourg's first two Winter Olympic medals, scooping silver in both the giant slalom and super-G.

Neither Girardelli, nor Luxembourg, has won another Winter medal since 1992, but the country's return to the Winter world stage has been maintained by the appearance of two ice skaters in subsequent Games: Patrick Schmit in 1998 and Fleur Maxwell in 2006.

Luxembourg qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics with two athletes but did not participate because one did not reach the criteria set by the NOC and the other was injured before the Games.

Medal tables

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Medals by Summer Games

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Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
1900 Parisdid not participate
1904 St. Louisdid not participate
1908 London
1912 Stockholm210000
1920 Antwerp26010119
1924 Paris510000
1928 Amsterdam490000
1932 Los Angelesdid not participate
1936 Berlin490000
1948 London470000
1952 Helsinki44100127
1956 Melbourne110000
1960 Rome520000
1964 Tokyo120000
1968 Mexico City50000
1972 Munich110000
1976 Montreal80000
1980 Moscow30000
1984 Los Angeles50000
1988 Seoul80000
1992 Barcelona60000
1996 Atlanta60000
2000 Sydney40000
2004 Athens100000
2008 Beijing120000
2012 London90000
2016 Rio de Janeiro100000
2020 Tokyo120000
2024 Paris140000
2028 Los Angelesfuture event
2032 Brisbane
Total110296

Source: [4][5][6]


Notes
  • ART Art competitions (1912–1948) are not included in the medal table above, as they were non-sports events formerly part of the Olympic Games.[nb 1] Luxembourg won a total of three art competition medals (2 gold, and 1 silver), across the 1924, and 1928 Summer Olympics.[6]
  • NAT Athletes at the early Olympic Games (1896, 1900, and 1904) are attributed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) according to the national affiliation of their club ot team, rather than their nationality.[nb 2] Luxembourgish-born Michel Théato competed for the French club, Club Amical et Sportif de Saint-Mandékn, and won the men's marathon at the 1900 Summer Olympics. As he represented a French club, his participation and gold medal are credited to France by the IOC.[3]

Medals by Winter Games

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Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
1928 St. Moritz50000
1932 Lake Placiddid not participate
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen40000
1948–1984did not participate
1988 Calgary10000
1992 Albertville1020216
1994 Lillehammer10000
1998 Nagano10000
2002 Salt Lake Citydid not participate
2006 Turin10000
2010 Vancouverdid not participate
2014 Sochi10000
2018 Pyeongchang10000
2022 Beijing20000
2026 Milano Cortina20000
2030 French Alpsfuture event
2034 Utah
Total020244

Source: [4][5]

Medals by summer sport

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SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal
 Athletics1001
 Weightlifting0101
Totals (2 entries)1102

Medals by winter sport

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SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal
 Alpine skiing0202
Totals (1 entries)0202

List of medalists

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Medal Name Games Sport Event
 GoldJosy Barthel1952 HelsinkiAthleticsMen's 1500m
 SilverJoseph Alzin1920 AntwerpWeightliftingMen's Heavyweight
 SilverMarc Girardelli1992 AlbertvilleAlpine skiingMen's super-G
 SilverMarc Girardelli1992 AlbertvilleAlpine skiingMen's giant slalom

See also

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Notes

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  1. In 1952, art competition medals, as well as the gold medal awards for feats in alpinism and aeronautics, were removed from the official national medal counts.[7] Only since 2021 have they been officially listed again by the IOC in the medal tables and respective National Olympic Committee (NOC) profiles on its website.[6]
  2. In 2024, the IOC reinstated its original and current attribution policy for athletes at the early Olympic Games (1896, 1900, and 1904). From 2021 to 2024, the IOC briefly attributed medals in individual events according to the athlete's nationality, even when the athlete represented a foreign club or team[8] Since 2024, participation and medals have instead been attributed according to the national affiliation of the club or team represented by the athlete.[3][9]

References

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  1. "60th anniversary for only Luxembourg Olympic gold medal win". Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  2. "Michel THEATO - profile". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Paris 1900 marathon men Results - Olympic Athletics". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Olympic Analytics – Luxembourg (LUX)". olympanalyt.com. Olympic Analytics. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  5. 1 2 "Olympedia – Luxembourg (LUX)". Olympedia. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
  6. 1 2 "Luxembourg - NOC Profile". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee (IOC). 2024. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  7. McGillivray, Mary (2024-07-31). "ABC TV's The Art Of explores the surprising history of art competitions at the Olympics". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  8. "Paris 1900 marathon men Results - Olympic Athletics (pre-2024)". International Olympic Committee. August 2022. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  9. "Olympedia – FAQ Nationality". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
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