Paris Olympic Medals Revealed: "Medals Contain Iron Pieces from the Eiffel Tower"

French Luxury Jewelry Brand Chaumet Design
Includes 18g Iron Sculpture... "Keep France Close"

The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee (hereinafter 'the Committee') has unveiled the medals for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Paralympics. These medals are notable for containing actual iron pieces from the Eiffel Tower, a representative symbol of France.

The Olympic medals, revealed on the 8th (local time), were designed by CHAUMET, a renowned French luxury jewelry brand. The front of the Olympic medals features the winged goddess of victory, Nike, soaring above the Panathenaic Stadium in Greece, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations. The Acropolis is depicted in the upper left corner, while the Olympic rings and the official name of this edition are placed above Nike's head. While fully complying with IOC regulations, the Committee added a unique touch by engraving the Eiffel Tower, a symbol of Paris, in the upper right corner of the medal.

Olympic medal design unveiled by the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee on the 8th (local time). Actual iron pieces from the Eiffel Tower are embedded on the back of the medal.
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

Another distinctive feature of these medals is that the back of all gold, silver, and bronze medals contains actual iron pieces shaped like a hexagon, symbolizing France and the Eiffel Tower. The iron pieces incorporated into the medals were sourced from approximately 91 kg of iron fragments removed and preserved during the maintenance and renovation of the Eiffel Tower by the Eiffel Tower Operating Association.

Martin Fourcade, Chair of the Athletes' Commission, said, "Taking the medal home means taking a piece of history with you," adding, "We wanted athletes to cherish a small piece of France close to their hearts." Tony Estanguet, Chair of the Organizing Committee, described it as "more than just a medal; it is the meeting of the most coveted item at the Olympics and France's most iconic symbol, the Eiffel Tower."

The Eiffel Tower was created as a commemorative symbol for the 1889 Paris World's Fair. Standing 324 meters tall, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world at the time of its completion. The name 'Eiffel Tower' comes from Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who designed it.

The reverse side of the Paris Olympic gold medal features a hexagonal piece of the Eiffel Tower, symbolizing France. [Image source: Screenshot from the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee website]

The medals weigh 529 g for gold (including 18 g of Eiffel Tower iron and 6 g of gold), 525 g for silver, and 455 g for bronze. They have a diameter of 85 mm and a thickness of 9.2 mm. A total of 5,084 medals will be produced for the Paris Olympics, combining both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The 33rd Olympic Games will be held in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11. The medals will make their debut on the podium during the men's 10m air rifle shooting event on July 27, the day after the opening ceremony.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.