When Canada’s Lawrence Lemieux chose humanity over winning an Olympic medal

The 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul witnessed an incident when a sailor chose humanity over winning a medal on the biggest stage. Canada’s Lawrence Lemieux was well on his way to winning a silver medal as he was positioned second in the Finn Category. After failing to finish on the podium at the 1984 Olympics where he finished 13th in the Star Class, the Canadian had the chance of making amends.

However, for him, saving lives of his fellow sailors held more importance than fulfilling his dreams of winning an Olympic medal. The weather during the event was not at its best. While Lemieux was used to sailing in rough conditions, some of the other sailors struggled.

He saw Singapore sailors Siew Shaw and Joseph Chan fall in the sea during the 470 event after their dinghy fell apart. One of them somehow found his way through to the boat but the other sailor struggled as the force of the waves did not allow him to return.

Seeing them struggle, Lawrence Lemieux left his event and attempted to save the sailors. He took control of them until a patrol boat arrived.

“The distance between him and the boat was quite a way and the boat was drifting faster than he could swim. I had to make a decision and once I realized the dynamics of the problem, there was no question,” Lemieux was quoted as saying by Financial Times.

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Lawrence Lemieux was rewarded for his bravery after Olympics 1998

After his rescue act, Lemieux rejoined the heat but had fallen behind significantly. His dream of winning an Olympic medal crashed as he finished 21st in his Heat.

Although he did not bag a medal, Lemieux was rewarded for his bravery as he received the Pierre de Coubertin Medal. He became the fifth overall and only the second during the Olympics after Eugenio Monti to win the prestigious medal.

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