Lot #704: 2002 Coca-Cola Canadian Olympic Team Medal Token - Mario Lemieux - "Flaming Maple Leaf" torch logo

This 2002 Coca-Cola Canadian Olympic Team Medal Token featuring Mario Lemieux is a classic piece of Canadian sports history, and the centerpiece of the 2002 Coca-Cola set. While the Rob Blake medal offered in Lot #702 features a key leader, this one features "Super Mario" Lemieux, the captain of the 2002 squad and a living legend who came out of retirement to lead Team Canada to its first Olympic gold in 50 years. By 2002, Lemieux's story was already cinematic: he had survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma, retired due to chronic back pain in 1997, and made a miraculous comeback in 2000. He served as the calm, stoic leader (alongside executive director Wayne Gretzky) that unified a team under immense national pressure. Obverse: A younger, determined Mario Lemieux in the Team Canada jersey. Bilingual Legend: CANADIAN OLYMPIC TEAM and L'ÉQUIPE OLYMPIQUE CANADIENNE. Name "MARIO LEMIEUX" to the left. Reverse: The iconic Coca-Cola script and the year 2002. The Team Canada "Flaming Torch" logo, symbolizing the quest for gold in Salt Lake City. Interestingly, the official send-off ceremony for the 2002 Olympic team actually took place at the Corel Centre (now Canadian Tire Centre) right here in Ottawa after a Senators vs. Penguins game. Lemieux skated out in his Penguins jersey, pulled it off to reveal his "Lemieux 66" Team Canada sweater, and received a standing ovation that reportedly almost brought the roof down. Dimensions: Brass 30 g 10.4 g Pickup category timeslot {A}