Lindsey Vonn is getting divorced.
Lindsey was married to Thomas Vonn, a former racer on the US ski team, also served as Lindsey’s chief adviser, in 2007.
In 2010, (during the marriage) Lindsey won a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics.
So, who gets to keep the Gold Medal? In New York State, any assets acquired by either party during the course of the marriage is subject to equitable distribution. If the marriage were to be dissolved in New York, what would happen to the medal?
Certainly Lindsey was the person who won the medal, but didn’t her husband, who was her “chief adviser” and an Olympic skier himself contribute to her winning?
Gold is worth a lot of money right now. Maybe the medal should be sold, or melted down and sold for the gold value alone and the proceeds split.
Should her husband be entitled to anything at all relating to the Gold Medal, even though she may not have won the medal without his advice and assistance?
At the end of the day, and if the divorce were to be handled in New York, there is no doubt that the medal would be deemed a marital asset and subject to equitable distribution. There is also a colorable claim by the husband to some interest in the medal. But I think Lindsey would likely be permitted to keep the medal (possibly with a credit to the husband for some amount of money as his interest).
What do you think?
Would the outcome be different if the husband had won the medal?
See what happened to boxer Shane Mosley’s three title belts in his California Divorce.