| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Canada | ||
| Sailing | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Pierre de Coubertin medal | 1988 | |
Lawrence Lemieux (born November 12, 1955 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian sailor, who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in the Star Class and at the 1988 Summer Olympics in the Finn class.
On September 24, 1988, the sailing competition was underway at Pusan, 450 kilometers from South Korea's capital of Seoul, the main Olympic site. It suddenly became very windy, escalating from 15 to 35 knots. In the 470 class, Singapore sailors Joseph Chan and Shaw Her Siew were thrown into the water. They were injured and unable to right their boat.
Lemieux was sailing alone near the halfway point in his race on the nearby Finn class race course. He was in second place in the fifth of a seven-race event. Upon seeing the capsized crew, Lemieux broke away and sailed to rescue them. After he rescued Chen and Her Siew, he waited for and transferred the two sailors onto an official patrol boat. He then finished 22nd in his race.
Soon after the race, the jury of the International Yacht Racing Union unanimously decided that Lemieux should be awarded second place, the position he was in when he went to the aid of the Singapore crew.
At the medal awards ceremony, Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee, awarded Lemieux the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for Sportsmanship. "By your sportsmanship, self-sacrifice and courage," said Samaranch, "you embody all that is right with the Olympic ideal."
Lemieux has since retired from professional sailing and is now a coach. He is currently living at Seba Beach, Alberta.
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