Paris 2024: the Olympic and Paralympic medals have been revealed
In a few short months, the next Olympic Games will begin and the athletes now know the reward they will receive if they make it onto the podium. On Thursday 8 February, the Olympic and Paralympic medals were unveiled. And, whether they are gold, silver or bronze, they will all contain a very special piece of metal that was once part of the Eiffel Tower.
The secret behind the exceptional project behind the Olympic and Paralympic medals for Paris 2024 has now been revealed.
The medals awarded to athletes at the upcoming Games were unveiled on Thursday 8 February at the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee.
In keeping with tradition, the medals are gold, silver and bronze. However, unlike any of the approximately 36,600 medals that have been awarded since Athens 1896, the first modern Olympic Games, these will each be adorned with a small piece of Paris and a symbol of the country of France: the Eiffel Tower.
The decision came from a desire to make these objects unique and singular, as Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, explains.
“There was a huge amount done to try to bring together these precious metals - gold, silver and bronze - with the most precious metal in the Eiffel Tower, the jewel in the French crown. So what’s specific about the 2024 medals is that meshing together, that fusion, that alloy…”
“What’s impactful for this year will be having a part of the original Eiffel Tower metal, the iron, in these various medals, and so this is what we wanted to do, to infuse all these 2024 athletes with that metal.”
It was a challenge taken up by Chaumet, the expert jewellery maker known worldwide for their astonishing creations.
Athletes express their enthusiasm for the Paris 2024 medals: 'Seeing them makes me want to reach my goals'
Five-time gold medal-winning biathlete Martin Fourcade revealed Paris 2024's athlete-first approach was integral to the design of the medals.
"As usual, Paris 2024 put the athletes at the centre of the project," he said. "We wanted two things: to have similar medals for Olympians and Paralympians, and for the medals to include a piece of invaluable iron [from the Eiffel Tower].
“There were three major inspirations behind this: the hexagon, the influence of France, and we also wanted the medal to be like a jewel - and that’s why it is set exactly like a precious stone."
Swimmer Béatrice Hess, a 20-time gold medallist at the Paralympic Games, highlighted the three things she feels make these medals so special.
“As a French person, these medals represent pride, they also represent victory, but they also represent a jewel," she said. "I think they will be even more valuable to us if we win one on home soil."
“It’s a great motivation, I am working so hard [to win one]," added 2021 European wrestling champion Koumba Larroque. "Seeing those medals up close makes me want to reach out and touch my goals with my fingertips. I have two training sessions today and I will be even more motivated.”
The hexagon-shaped Eiffel Tower at the heart of a radiant medal
On each medal, original iron from the Eiffel Tower was cut into a hexagon, the geometric shape that evokes France to the point of becoming its nickname. This symbol recalls the mobilisation of an entire country, beyond its capital, to offer historic Olympic and Paralympic Games. Without its usual “Eiffel Tower brown” paint, the puddled iron has been left in its original colour. Placed in the centre and embossed with the emblem of the Paris 2024 Games, this piece of heritage fits elegantly among the gold, silver and bronze to give the medals a two-tone effect.
Also on the same side, thin lines are projected at irregular intervals all around the iron hexagon. Struck rather than engraved, these rays bring relief and shine to a medal that is far from smooth. This creative idea embodies both France's radiance in the world and the athletes’ radiant performances at the Games.
After unveiling a unique emblem, a pair of mascots, a common look and a single Torch, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medals now also share one side with the same design: The side set with the iron of the Eiffel Tower.
The Olympic and Paralympic medals are all engraved with the name of the sport, the discipline and the event on the edge. These inscriptions are written in French on the Olympic medals and in English on the Paralympic ones, the respective official languages of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The obverse of the medals shows the adaptation introduced of the goddess of victory and the stadium for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 designed by Elena Votsi.
Key stats behind the Paris 2024 medals
- 5,084 medals produced
- 85mm in diameter
- 9.2mm thick
- 18g of iron from the Eiffel Tower
- 529g: the weight of the gold medal
- 525g: the weight of the silver medal
- 455g: the weight of the bronze medal