London rocks with heavy metal
Source: Agencies |
July 29, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BIGGER, wider, heavier - that could be the motto for the medals at the 2012 London Olympics.
Measuring 85 millimeters in diameter and weighing 375-400 grams, London's medals will be the largest ever awarded at a Summer Games.
They dwarf the 70 millimeter medals handed out in Beijing four years ago, but don't quite outsize the prizes given at the Vancouver Winter Games last year: those medals were 100 millimeters wide.
The London medals were presented by Princess Anne at a ceremony at London's Trafalgar Square on Wednesday to mark a year to go until the 2012 Olympics open.
As is traditional, the front of the medals features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. She is shown stepping out of the Parthenon and arriving in the host city.
On the back is a complex image containing five symbolic elements, including an interpretation of the London 2012 logo and the River Thames.
A distinctive grid represents radiating energy, while the background is concave to suggest an amphitheater.
The medals were designed by British artist David Watkins, whose idea was picked from an initial list of more than 100 that was then whittled down to six.
"It is exciting to think that the finest athletes in the world will be wearing my medal design next summer," Watkins said.
A total of 2,100 medals will be handed out at the London Games in 302 ceremonies. The ore for the medals will be mined at two sites, one near Salt Lake City and the other in Mongolia.
"It is the pinnacle of a sporting career to become an Olympic champion but I am confident that receiving one of these medals will make it all the more special in London next year," IOC President Jacques Rogge said.
First dive
British medal hope Tom Daley made the first dive into the chilly waters of the newly-opened Aquatics Centre.
Addressing the crowd in the same square and on the same spot where Londoners heard in 2005 that they had won the right to be hosts of the Games for an unprecedented third time, Prime Minister David Cameron said the city would be ready.
"Six years on, with just one year to go, the sense of excitement is even greater today than it was then," he declared.
"I think this has the makings of a great British success story."
Rogge called on the world's finest athletes to attend the Games of the XXX Olympiad in "the nation that invented modern sport and the concept of fair play."
"The athletes will be ready, and so will London," said Rogge, who earlier had assured assembled reporters that London's preparations were on a par with great Games of the past. "I came into the Aquatics Centre and I had a visual shock. I have seen so many venues in my life, and this is unique," he said, standing under a roof whose wooden underside resembles the vast belly of a whale.
"The Olympic Stadium, the Velodrome, the Aquatics Centre ... a great job done by London," added Rogge.
Measuring 85 millimeters in diameter and weighing 375-400 grams, London's medals will be the largest ever awarded at a Summer Games.
They dwarf the 70 millimeter medals handed out in Beijing four years ago, but don't quite outsize the prizes given at the Vancouver Winter Games last year: those medals were 100 millimeters wide.
The London medals were presented by Princess Anne at a ceremony at London's Trafalgar Square on Wednesday to mark a year to go until the 2012 Olympics open.
As is traditional, the front of the medals features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. She is shown stepping out of the Parthenon and arriving in the host city.
On the back is a complex image containing five symbolic elements, including an interpretation of the London 2012 logo and the River Thames.
A distinctive grid represents radiating energy, while the background is concave to suggest an amphitheater.
The medals were designed by British artist David Watkins, whose idea was picked from an initial list of more than 100 that was then whittled down to six.
"It is exciting to think that the finest athletes in the world will be wearing my medal design next summer," Watkins said.
A total of 2,100 medals will be handed out at the London Games in 302 ceremonies. The ore for the medals will be mined at two sites, one near Salt Lake City and the other in Mongolia.
"It is the pinnacle of a sporting career to become an Olympic champion but I am confident that receiving one of these medals will make it all the more special in London next year," IOC President Jacques Rogge said.
First dive
British medal hope Tom Daley made the first dive into the chilly waters of the newly-opened Aquatics Centre.
Addressing the crowd in the same square and on the same spot where Londoners heard in 2005 that they had won the right to be hosts of the Games for an unprecedented third time, Prime Minister David Cameron said the city would be ready.
"Six years on, with just one year to go, the sense of excitement is even greater today than it was then," he declared.
"I think this has the makings of a great British success story."
Rogge called on the world's finest athletes to attend the Games of the XXX Olympiad in "the nation that invented modern sport and the concept of fair play."
"The athletes will be ready, and so will London," said Rogge, who earlier had assured assembled reporters that London's preparations were on a par with great Games of the past. "I came into the Aquatics Centre and I had a visual shock. I have seen so many venues in my life, and this is unique," he said, standing under a roof whose wooden underside resembles the vast belly of a whale.
"The Olympic Stadium, the Velodrome, the Aquatics Centre ... a great job done by London," added Rogge.
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