Olympic and Paralympic Medals with a Special Sentiment

Behind almost any top-class athlete is a support network. Family members, teammates, coaching and management staff and commercial teams aim to work together to form the complex web that allows one athlete to perform to their highest potential, be that on an individual basis or as part of a team.

It is rare to find a footballer who doesn’t owe a debt of gratitude to a family member whose sacrifices enabled the attendance of training sessions, or to find an Olympic or Paralympic sprinter who doesn’t credit a coach as an inspiration and mentor. Put simply, there are very few sports-people who compete at the top level who have managed to get there on their own.

It is this sentiment that French designer, Philippe Starck, has embodied in his design of the medals to be distributed to successful athletes at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. The son of an aeronautics engineer, who he cites as one of his foremost inspirations, Starck has earned world-wide acclaim for his ingenious and varied designs, which include; hotels, restaurants, furniture and smartphones. Additionally, this isn’t Starck’s first Olympic and Paralympic involvement, as he designed the torch for the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Albertville, France.

The medals will look much the same as the typical design we are used to, however, each one will split into four separate pieces, allowing winning athletes to share their success with those who have played an integral part in their accomplishment. This tangible way of showing appreciation will allow athletes to give thanks to their support network and celebrate collective achievement.

The design idea played an important role in Paris’s bid to host the Games and its concept falls perfectly in-line with the values of Olympism, that promote Excellence, Friendship and Respect. The unique concept is modern in its reflection of the world as we know it, yet classic in the spirit and values that it promotes.