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≡ FAIR PLAY AWARD ≡
The thrills of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games were also accompanied by some remarkable demonstrations of sportsmanship and fair play. Fan voting is now open – through 3 March (Tuesday) – to select the Fair Play Award winner from the Games, presented by the International Olympic Committee and the International Committee for Fair Play.
From the nominations submitted during the Games, a jury selected six finalists, from three different sports:
● Curling/Mixed Doubles: Julie Zelingrova (CZE)
“Zelingrova exemplified ‘playing by the rules’ when no one was watching. By self-reporting a nearly invisible rule violation (touching a running stone), she chose personal honesty over an easy advantage.”
● Curling/Women: Italy and the U.S.
“When a disputed stone-touch threatened to cloud the match, the two teams chose honesty over advantage.”
● Figure Skating/Men: Ilia Malinin (USA)
“After a heartbreaking drop from first to eighth place, Malinin didn’t retreat and genuinely celebrated gold medallist Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ).”
● Figure Skating/Men: Yuma Kagiyama (JPN)
“Kagiyama’s exuberant, heartfelt celebration of [countryman] Shun Sato’s medal showed that friendship and genuine joy for a peer can bridge the gap of any rivalry.”
● Figure Skating/Women: Amber Glenn (USA)
“Despite her own disappointment, Glenn stepped in to shield Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) from intrusive cameras, prioritising mental health and human dignity over the spotlight.”
● Ice Hockey/Women: Canada
“When a norovirus outbreak struck the Finnish team, Team Canada didn’t look for a forfeit; they looked for fairness by backing the postponement of their Olympic opener.”
Voting is available at this link.
The 2026 award is especially poignant as it comes 62 years after the very first Fair Play Award, given to Italian bobsled legend Eugenio Monti. During the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games, he aided his direct rivals, the British Two-Man team with a replacement bolt that ultimately helped them win the Olympic gold, while Monti’s team ended up with the bronze.
Monti, who passed in 2003, won silver medals at Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956 in the Two-Man and Four-Man and went on to win both Olympic golds at the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble (FRA).
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