Medals Medals Everywhere ….It Must be Olympic Time
July 1, 2008
Over the past 2 1/2 years Lauren has recieved many, many(too many?) medals as a top three and one time (in the AAU National Junior Olympics )a Copper medal for the Long Jump. I have to say by far her favorite most meaningful to date medals were her Gold,Silver and Copper (4th place)medals she received at the AAU JO’s in 2007. She was very proud wearing them on the airplane home from Tennessee’s. Medals are an important part of tradition in winning as well as a goal to reach for.But is it really the medal or the accompanying activity or time, that we are most proud.
I say it depends…At our ”A” meets the kids recieve top three medals routinely ,but I have observed athletes often times have lost the value of the medal and it “specialness”
Most times the athlete doesn’t even recieve them until a week or more after the meet and by then they just don’t care all that much. I think because we give them out to freely….(Sometimes just showing up gets an athlete a medal almost.) I would love to see the monies spent on medals through out the season saved and given in the form of a team prize or something like that. Saving the actual medal distribution for the big meets placing more value on the accomplishment. Here in California ,that would be L.A. Jets Invitational and Phoenix Invitationals for starters. This month many youth athletes will be loking to take home their own medals and my little athlete is no different.She is very excited about the Junior Olympics (both of them) and we are in preparation to make that happen in a big way.Time will tell. Check out what our American athletes have to look forward to.
USATF Youth Nationals Medals
Yesterdays trials were great, read about it here at Teamstrannon Blogs On! Get a close up of just who might take home some GOLD this year.
Olympic Medals and Anthems
There’s really nothing that can, in principle, stand above the medal ceremony of the Olympics. There’s been scandal and political bickering to mar the Games in the past, and there almost certainly will be again in the future, but in its purest form, the Games are about coming together in celebration of unity and human potential. They are the original games from which all others spawned and we would do well to remember that they are just that: Games. Win or lose, what is important is the honor and effort given in the act of playing. The Games ought to show that beneath our physical and ideological differences, we are capable of great beauty, strength, and respect. And at the end of it all, those who shine most brightly carry home the pride of their nation with the playing of their anthem for the rest of the world to hear. May this always be the best in sports.
For sure this track season our US Olympic Team is looking to not only pick up some gold medals, but watch the American flag rise and hear the the National Anthem play. The first step on this most pretigious journey began this weekend for American track and field athletes. Check your local listings for times and channels.
Beijing Olympic Medals
After a global competition resulting in 265 proposals from all over the world, the Beijing Olympic Committee unveiled the XXIX Olympiad medals on the occasion of the 500-day countdown to the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games
Each medal sports the Beijing Olympics logo inlaid with Chinese jade. It’s the first time jade of this caliber will be used for an Olympic medal making them the most expensive Olympic medals in history.
The medals are designed with inspiration from “bi”, China’s ancient jade piece inscribed with dragon pattern. The medals, made of gold and jade, symbolize nobility and virtue and are embodiment of traditional Chinese values of ethics and honor.
The IOC has strict stipulation on the Olympic medals’ material, identification, weight, size and drawing. The medals for the champion and the runner-up are made of pure silver, and the champion’s medal must be plated with gold weighing not less than six grams each. 
Beijing Medals Obverse Side
On their obverse side, the medals adopt the standard design prescribed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — a drawing that represents the winged goddess of victory Nike and Panathinaikos Arena.
Medal Facts
On the reverse side (the backs) China has placed jade in the forefront, extolling its historic stone in three colors. All three jade pieces are “Pi” disc carvings, China’s most sacred symbol. Left is pale green jade, center is pure white nephrite, and right is a darker green nephrite.
About the Medals
Jade, a precious stone known in China as the “royal gem,” will be featured prominently, marking the first time the mineral is used in Olympic medals.
All three versions will have the same design, but a white jade will go into the gold medals, a darker shade into the silver medals, and a green jade into the bronze medals. The circle band of jade, visible on the back side, will surround a metal centerpiece engraved with the Beijing Games emblem over the Beijing 2008 logo and Olympic rings.
The front of the medals are plated completely gold, silver or bronze and contain the traditional design engraved on all Olympic medals — Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and Panathinaikos Arena.
The design was inspired from “bi,” which is a flat jade disc containing a circular hole in the center and features an engraved dragon design. It came from a group at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, which won a contest that received 265 submissions from 25 countries.
This was the first time the Olympic medals design was opened to a public competition.
The average medal weighs about five ounces, but these will be slightly heavier and larger. They are 70mm in diameter and 6mm thick.
On the top edge of the medals are interlocking dragons to form the loop hole for the medal ribbon, which will be a red strap with cloud designs, the Olympic rings, and the Beijing 2008 logo.
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Until Next Time
Related posts:
- Australian Youth Olympic Games Jan.14-18
- Who Picked Beijing Anyway?
- TrackDad of Elite Sprinter Lauryn Williams, “I Just Want To Be There For My Daughter”
- Great Olympic Moments
- Time To Put The Medals Away
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