Medal Stamping

November 1, 2009

As unique as the world’s top athletes and their performances, every medal won at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be a one-of-a-kind work of art.

The medals, which were revealed last month, each feature a different crop of larger, contemporary Aboriginal artworks and are undulating rather than flat - both firsts in Games history.

More than 30 steps, representing 2,817 hours of differing manufacturing processes, were taken to produce the medals.

The final form of the medals is inspired by the ocean waves, drifting snow, and mountainous landscape found in the region and throughout Canada. The Olympic medals are circular in shape, while the Paralympic medals are a superellipse.

Their significant weight - between 500 and 576 g depending on the medal – make them among the heaviest in Games history. The Olympic medals are 100 mm in diameter and about 6 mm thick, while the Paralympic medals are 95 mm wide and about 6 mm thick.

The gold, silver, and bronze medals were designed with direct input from Olympic and Paralympic athletes who shared their experiences about medals they won at past Games and what they would like to see in future medals.

Their stories and dreams helped shape the medals, which are being produced and supplied by Vancouver 2010 official supporters the Royal Canadian Mint and Canadian mining and metals company Teck Resources Limited, in collaboration with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

The medals are based on two large master artworks of an orca whale (Olympic) and raven (Paralympic) by Corrine Hunt, a Canadian designer/artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage based in Vancouver. Each of the medals has a unique, hand-cropped section of the abstract art, making every medal one of a kind.

For example, each medal will include its own signature elements of the orca and raven artwork, such as the suggestion of the orca’s eye, the curve of its dorsal fin, or perhaps the contours of the raven’s wing. Canadian industrial designer and architect Omer Arbel, also of Vancouver, used his knowledge of materials and fabrication processes to create the innovative, undulating design of the medals, which are struck nine times each to achieve the distinctive look as part of the 30-step medal fabrication process.

“This two-year project has been a truly collaborative effort among inspired designers, artists, and craftsmen who dedicated themselves to the challenge of finding beautiful, uniquely Canadian designs to honor the medalists and tell the stories of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games,” said VANOC CEO John Furlong.

In addition to the Aboriginal art, the obverse side of the medals is embossed with the Olympic Rings or Paralympic agitos and the hand-cropped section of the orca or raven design is lasered on with a subtle wood grain effect.

The Royal Canadian Mint will produce 615 Olympic and 399 Paralympic medals at its headquarters in Ottawa. The Mint started striking the medals in July and will finish this month.

“The Mint assembled a tremendous pool of talented engineers, engravers, die technicians, and press operators to channel decades of experience into bringing the Vancouver 2010 medals to life,” said Ian E. Bennett, president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. “These medals are the pinnacle of metal fabrication and craftsmanship and worthy tributes to the athletes who will triumph here mere months from now.”

Teck Resources is supplying the metals used in the production of the Olympic and Paralympic medals.

The metals are from Teck’s operations in Canada, including British Columbia, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Alaska, Chile, and Peru.

“Our employees worldwide are honored to supply the metals for the medals that will be cherished by the world’s best winter athletes in 2010,” said Teck’s President and CEO Don Lindsay. “We’re also excited that these medals will contain recycled metal recovered from end-of-life electronics, consistent with the sustainability philosophy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

For more information, visit www.vancouver2010.com.