Olympic Games 1996

IYRU Olympic Update

THE MEDALS

Victory Medals

Olympic Games victory medals are the most coveted in the world. While designs of medals for the Winter Olympic Games change from Olympiad to Olympiad, the victory medals for the Olympic Games maintain the traditional design introduced in 1928. That is when Italian artist Guiseppe Cassioli, designer of the medals for the Games of the IX Olympiad, created the images we see today: a foreground of the Hellenic Goddess Victory holding a laurel wreath over her head while she cradles a bundle of palm fronds in her arm, and a background that included images of the ancient Athens Coliseum, an amphora and a horse-drawn victory chariot.

Organising Committees create their own design for the reverse side of the medal and add elements to the front to distinguish their victory medals from those of previous Olympic Games. For the Centennial Olympic Games, Atlanta has added greater detail to all the traditional elements of the medal front and added a partial border of delicate leaves. The reverse includes the ACOG logo, the Quilt of Leaves and the pictogram for the sport/discipline in which the medal is won -- making the 1996 victory medals the first sport-specific medals in Olympic history.

The edge of each medal is inscribed with the name of the event for which it is won. A total of 604 gold, 604 silver and 630 bronze medals will be awarded during the Centennial Olympic Games, excluding competition ties. There are more bronze awarded because badminton, boxing, judo, tennis and table tennis do not have competitions to decide between the third and fourth place finishes; bronze medals are awarded to each. The dimensions and metallic content of each medal is strictly regulated by the IOC. Each is seven centimetres in diameter with an average thickness of five millimetres. The gold medals are actually made of sterling silver encased in six grams of pure gold.

Victory Bouquet

A simple gathering of flowers and leaves, the victory bouquet for the Centennial Olympic Games is rich in symbolism, reflecting the Games' ancient roots, traditional Southern hospitality, GeorgiaÕs extensive botanical interests and the qualities of an Olympian. Its greenery includes an olive branch for peace, laurel for glory, a palm frond for victory, magnolia for perseverance and leucothoe for friendship. Its flowers include a tiger lily for pride, two sunflowers for loyalty, a cockscomb for immortality, larkspur for swiftness and tuberose for hospitality.

IYRU Olympic Update