Paris 2024 Paralympics : what's behind the medal design?

By Florian Burgaud
3 min|
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Awarded to the top three finishers in each of the competitions at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the medals are highly symbolic.

From 28 August to 8 September, 549 events at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will award medals in 22 disciplines. The medals devised by the organisation have a number of similarities with their Olympic cousins. "We wanted the medals to be the same for both Olympic and Paralympic athletes", explained Martin Fourcade, five-time Olympic biathlon champion and Chairman of the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission, several months ago.

Firstly, they are genuine jewels designed by the Chaumet jewellery house and minted by the Monnaie de Paris. Secondly, one of the two sides is exactly the same, with a piece of the Eiffel Tower cut into a hexagon, the geometric shape of France, at its centre. Stripped of its ‘Eiffel Tower brown’ paint, the puddled iron is returned to its original colour. Placed centrally and stamped with the emblem of the Paris 2024 Games and the Agitos, this piece of heritage blends elegantly with the gold, silver and bronze to give the medals a two-tone effect.

Then there are fine lines projected at regular intervals around the iron hexagon. Struck rather than engraved, these rays add relief and sparkle to a medal that is far from smooth. This creative idea embodies both France's influence in the world and the performance of the athletes at the Paralympic Games. All Paralympic medals are engraved with the name of the sport, discipline and event of the medallist on the edge. The inscriptions are written in English, the official language of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Eiffel Tower is also present on the second side... and the ribbon

The other side of the Paralympic medals, however, differs from the Olympic version. Gone, then, are the goddess of victory and the Acropolis, to be replaced by the Eiffel Tower. Instead, a graphic representation of a low-angle view beneath the Iron Lady has been proposed. The words ‘Paris’ and ‘2024’ frame the pillars of the Tower and are written in universal Braille, a symbol of accessibility and a reference to its French inventor, Louis Braille.

To enable visually impaired athletes to distinguish the three metals by touch, lines are engraved on the edge of the medal: I for gold, II for silver and III for bronze.

Finally, the Eiffel Tower also inspired the unique design of the medal ribbon. Embellished with the crosses of the Parisian edifice, it is a deep red, reminiscent of one of the first colours of the monument, ‘red brown’.

Key medal figures for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

  • 85 mm in diameter
  • 9.2 mm thick
  • 18 g Eiffel Tower insert
  • 529 g gold medal
  • 525 g silver medal
  • 455 g bronze medal