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Tokyo 2020; Paralympic Games Medals

Design

©The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
©The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
©The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) unveiled the official design of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medals today, exactly one year before the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Designs for the medal ribbon and case were also unveiled.

The design is centred around the motif of a traditional Japanese fan, depicting the Paralympic Games as the source of a fresh new wind refreshing the world as well as a shared experience connecting diverse hearts and minds. The kaname, or pivot point, holds all parts of the fan together; here it represents Para athletes bringing people together regardless of nationality or ethnicity. Motifs on the leaves of the fan depict the vitality of people’s hearts and symbolise Japan’s captivating and life-giving natural environment in the form of rocks, flowers, wood, leaves, and water. These are applied with a variety of techniques, producing a textured surface that makes the medals compelling to touch.

Braille letters spell out “Tokyo 2020” on the medals’ face. A series of circular indentations on the side of the medals – one for gold, two for silver, three for bronze – make the medal types easy to distinguish by touch, the first time in Paralympic history that this provision has been made for athletes with a vision impairment.

As part of the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medals are being manufactured from recycled precious metals extracted from mobile phones and other small electronic devices donated by the public.

 

Specifications

Weight (without ribbon or pin)
-Gold: about 526g
-Silver: about 520g
-Bronze: about 430g

Thickness
-Thinnest point: 7.5 mm
-Thickest point: 10.7 mm

Diameter
-85 mm

Composition
-Gold: over 6 grams of gold plating on pure silver
-Silver: pure silver
-Bronze: red brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)

 

Medal designer

Sakiko Matsumoto
-Designer, Hakuhodo Products, Inc.

 

Video

 

Ribbon

©The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
©The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

The medal ribbons, in the Games’ colours of crimson and cherry blossom, employ traditional Japanese design motifs of harmonised chequered emblems (kumiichi matsumon) in a design that expresses both the festive spirit of the Games and the principle of “Unity in Diversity”. Silicon convex dots – one for gold, two for silver, and three for bronze – are applied to the ribbon’s reverse side, enabling visually-impaired individuals to easily identify the medal type at a touch.

 

Medal case design

©The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

The indigo wooden cases are individually hand-crafted from Japanese ash by highly skilled artisans. The unique wood grain of each case represents the diversity of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The circular case and lid are magnetised, allowing the medal to be displayed as if it is cradled within linked rings.

 

Source: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games