With one week to go until the application window for tickets for the Paralympic Games closes, the London 2012 Paralympic Games medals have been unveiled at the opening of a new display at the British Museum for the Cultural Olympiad which gives the public their first opportunity to see the medals.
The medals will be made in Britain and have been designed by Lin Cheung, a practising Jewellery artist and senior lecturer in Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, London.
In 2012 more than 2,100 Paralympic medals will be presented in 502 Paralympic victory ceremonies in more than 19 venues over 11 days of competition.
Lin Cheung said: ‘It is very exciting to think that elite Paralympic athletes will be celebrating their achievements next year at London 2012 Paralympic Games by wearing my medal design’.
‘The design for the front and back clearly talk to each other through the sculptural qualities of the victory goddess’s tunic on one side and her imagined wings on the other and this was very important to me but, ultimately, I hope the medal will be enjoyed and cherished as a symbol of great personal achievement’.
The face of the medal represents ‘Spirit in motion’ and is an imagined close-up section of an outstretched wing of the Greek Goddess of Victory, which has been depicted on the front of the Olympic medal since 2004.
The reverse of the medal represents ‘The heart of victory’ - a depiction of the area close to the heart of the Greek Goddess of Victory is symbolically chosen to reflect inclusion and togetherness at an historical event.
Seb Coe, LOCOG chair, said: ‘I’m sure that the design of the medals will be a source of inspiration for the thousands of Paralympic athletes around the world who are counting down the days before they compete in what will be an amazing festival of elite sport’.
‘British Paralympic athletes have had great medal success at previous Games – winning 102 medals at the Beijing 2008 Games alone. If you want to see these medals being hung around the neck of British athletes next summer, I would encourage you to apply for tickets to the Paralympic Games’.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, winner of 16 Paralympic Games medals, added: 'Winning a Paralympic medal is the pinnacle of an athlete’s career and the reward for years of dedication. With less than a year to go I'm sure that seeing these beautiful medals will make Paralympic hopefuls around the world train that little bit harder to ensure they're in the best possible shape to win one’.
