As stated in the previous post, the original Olympic flag presented to the IOC by the city of Antwerp, Belgium following the conclusion of the 1920 Olympics was stolen and had to be replaced by the Paris flag at the next Olympics. For years no one knew the whereabouts to the Antwerp flag and many thought it would never be seen again. That changed in 1977.
At a US Olympic Committee banquet a reporter was interviewing American Haig "Hal" Prieste, a bronze medalist at the 1920 Olympics in platform diving, when he brought up the topic of the stolen Olympic flag. Prieste replied, "I can help you with that, it's in my suitcase."
As it turns out, Prieste was dared by American swimmer Duke Kahanamoku to climb the flagpole and take the flag. For 57 years Prieste kept the flag in a suitcase in his home.
The IOC held a special ceremony at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia where Prieste, then 103, returned the Antwerp flag. It is now on display at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland that includes a plaque thanking Prieste for returning it.
Haig Prieste would pass away in 2001 at the age of 104, at the time of his death he was the oldest Olympic medalist.
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