Paris, France, February 8, 2024: 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 on to the podium.
On Thursday, February 8, 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.
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.
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