Olympic Medals

History and Design of Olympic Medals

• Olympic medals are awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively, in the classes of gold, silver, and bronze.
• The olive wreath was the prize for the winner at the Ancient Olympic Games.
• The first Olympic medals in 1896 were designed by French sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain and depicted Zeus holding Nike on the obverse and the Acropolis on the reverse.
• Giuseppe Cassioli's Trionfo design was chosen as the winner in 1928, which featured Nike holding a winner's crown and palm with a depiction of the Colosseum in the background.
• The medals for the 1960 Games in Rome inverted the design, with the obverse featuring the crowd and the reverse featuring Nike.
• The trend of using the Nike motif continued until the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where the IOC allowed an updated version to be created.
• The designer of the 2000 medal, Wojciech Pietranik, had originally featured the Sydney Opera House on the obverse instead of the traditional Roman Colosseum but the IOC decided that the Colosseum should remain.
• A new style by designer Elena Votsi depicting the Panathenaic Stadium was introduced at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
• The German Olympic Committee was the first Summer Games organizers to elect to change the reverse of the medal.
• The medal at the inaugural 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France did not even feature the Olympic rings.
• The presentation of the medals and awards varied significantly until the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles brought in what has now become standard.
• The medals hung from a chain of laurel leaves, while they are now hung from a colored ribbon.