The 2012 Olympics medals are revealed

Discussion in 'Olympics LONDON 2012' started by ctjcad, Jul 29, 2011.

  1. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    ..unique in their own ways..:cool:
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    http://www.rediff.com/sports/slide-...nveiled-for-2012-london-olympics/20110728.htm
    Wednesday 27 July 2011

    The thousands of athletes striving to compete at London 2012 now know what treasure awaits at the end of their long and tortuous journeys after the medals for next year's Olympics were revealed in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday, one year before the start of the Games.

    Measuring 85mm in diameter the gold, silver and bronze medals designed by British artist David Watkins (last picture) are considerably larger than those in many previous Games and, weighing in at a hefty 400 grams -- the heaviest for a summer Games -- multiple champions may well be paying some excess baggage on their flights home.

    As at all the modern Olympics since 1896, apart from Paris in 1900 when they were rectangular, London's medals are circular with one side featuring the obligatory Greek goddess Nike -- the symbol of victory and embodiment of the spirit of the Games.

    It is the other side, however, that organisers say will encapsulate London's third hosting of the Games, following the previous editions in 1908 and 1948.
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    "Athletes will look at the pictures today and say I want one of those," the world record holder told Reuters hours before the world got to see the design for the first time at a special one-year-to-go event in Trafalgar Square attended by IOC president Jacques Rogge.

    "They will go out and train the next day with a little extra motivation, it's kind of a wake-up call, it crystallises what the challenges are."

    Asked for his thoughts on the design, Edwards said the medals were "a chunky piece of kit".

    "Compared to my Sydney medal it's a considerably bigger in diameter and also a lot heavier. It's beautiful and it's a chunky piece of kit. If you win seven or eight of them like Michael Phelps did in Beijing you'll need a strong neck."

    While fame and fortune often await Olympic champions, Edwards said the medals themselves were the goal. "I slept with the medal under my pillow in Sydney," he said.

    "It represents a lifetime's work."
     

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    #1 ctjcad, Jul 29, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2011
  2. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    frankly, i am not too impressed by the design. and what's the deal with the boobs?
     
  3. cobalt

    cobalt Moderator

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    That's allegedly the Greek goddess Nike. I couldn't say for sure since I've never met her in person. But if she's a goddess, she deserves goddess-like proportions, I guess... :D

    Edit: although admittedly, she needs to go on a waist-slimming diet as well...
     
  4. lcleing

    lcleing Regular Member

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    I think the designer got it right if he/she is a British. That is the sort of figure you will expect from the typical British women nowadays:p.

    Regarding about the boobs...I think that have something to do with the influence of current culture, especially among the youngsters. If you can see different topless women(they are amateurs) posting for the the sun(a British tabloid) everyday, you know something is not right here. And that's not including all the porn magazines you can find on the shelfs in almost every store...including Tesco and Primark. So the kids here kinda grow up seeing topless women all over the place:rolleyes::D.
     
  5. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Given the state of our economy the winners will probably bite through them and find chocolate inside:D.
     
  6. cobalt

    cobalt Moderator

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    "I crossed the street to the local newsstore
    To flick through some kink magazines;
    Beside me some schoolkid I saw
    Stuff some girlie mags down into his jeans.
    The shopgirl was watching, amazed!
    She asked me to call the police;
    She screamed at his blushing young face
    And he escaped into the street..."

    A Gold medal for the first one to call this quote correctly! :D
     
  7. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    #7 ctjcad, Jul 30, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2011
  8. Fidget

    Fidget Regular Member

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    Nike has been on just about every iteration of the Olympic medals since the modern Olympics began in 1896. So that's not new.
    Also in classical European art and in the renaissance style that was inspired by the classical style, partial nudity of goddesses was ubiquitous. So you can't very well call this design a modern pornographic corruption by Western flagging morals. :rolleyes:
    However, whether or not it is a nice piece of art is certainly up for debate.

    Here is a link to the designs of all the previous Olympic for comparison . Note that there was one almost identical style for many years. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14291544
     
  9. cobalt

    cobalt Moderator

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    Yeah, I noticed that timeline as well. Here is the medal from 1896
    1896.jpg

    That girl Nike sure has packed some pounds since... :D

    Trivia: The Florentine sculptor Guiseppe Cassioli designed medals for the games from 1928 through to 1988, with a few breaks in between -- 60 years! Awesome!!

    My personal favourite though, is the design by Fredrique Vernon for the 1900 Paris Olympiques :D
    1900.jpg

    Although if a poll were to be held to commission an artist of choice, my only choice would be Luis Royo! Winner by a furlong! :D A Royo Nike would be a sight to behold....
     
  10. BadYankee

    BadYankee Regular Member

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    That's the British Eccentricity Character Behavior on the Design. Notice the Elements off axis center.
     
  11. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    That's probably not on purpose, y'know:D.
     
  12. a|extan

    a|extan Regular Member

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    maybe it is deliberately designed to create more controversy and hence more marketing value
     
  13. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Say it ain't so..

    ..so, take heart all y'all M'sian Bolehers, even if LCW were to win the Silver medal, once again, we can consider him winning a Gold medal anyway..:cool:
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    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/olympic-gold-medals-made-mostly-111600613.html

    Olympic Gold Medals Are Made Up Mostly of Silver
    By Annalyn Censky | CNNMoney.com –

    Next week in London, athletes from around the world will go for the gold. But as it turns out, the Olympic gold medal is mostly made of silver.

    Weighing in at 412 grams -- or roughly the weight of a can of green beans -- the gold medal is made up of only 1.34%, or about 6 grams of gold.

    The rest is comprised of 93% silver and 6% copper.

    Melted down and sold at today's market value, those raw materials would be worth about $650.

    In comparison, the silver medal -- made up of 93% silver and 7% copper --- would be worth about $335. The bronze medal, mostly made of copper, would be worth less than $5.>>[five-freakin'-dollars?!?!:eek::(:crying:]

    The Olympic games have not handed out solid gold medals since the 1912 summer games in Stockholm, Sweden.

    The 2012 Olympic medals were made from nearly nine tons of metal from Rio Tinto's Kennecott Utah Copper mine in Salt Lake City and its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

    British artist David Watkins created this year's design on the front of the medal. The back depicts Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory stepping out of the Parthenon.

    The Royal Mint in South Wales pressed the medals in a 10-hour process that requires a 1,400 degree F furnace and nearly 1,000 tons of weight on a special press.

    The 2,300 Olympic medals are currently being guarded at the Tower of London until the games begin, July 27.

    Of course a medal has more symbolic value to the Olympic champions and their fans. Resales are rare, but when they do happen, one can command exponentially more than its makeup.

    A gold medal worn by Mark Wells, a member of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" U.S. men's hockey team, garnered $310,700 at auction two years ago.

    Swimmer Anthony Ervin, a medalist in 2000, auctioned his gold to raise $17,000 for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. And a medal worn by Ken Spain, a member of the 1968 U.S. Basketball team sold for $26,000 last year.

    Not all medals are an easy sell though.

    Track and field star Tommie Smith, made famous when he raised his fist in a black power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games, was hit by a media backlash when he put his gold medal up for auction in 2010.

    He still has the medal, after no one met the minimum $250,000 bid.
     
    #13 ctjcad, Jul 19, 2012
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2012

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