The Olympic medals from Paris are enormous Pieces of the Eiffel Tower connect them

The Olympic medals from Paris are enormous Pieces of the Eiffel Tower connect them

The Olympic medals from Paris are enormous Pieces of the Eiffel Tower connect them

When Olympic medalists create history in the Paris Games, they will bring a piece of France and its history home with them.

On Thursday, February 1, 2024, in Paris, the medals for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 are given to the media. Every gold, silver, and bronze medal that is going to be hung is fitted with a polished, hexagon-shaped piece of iron that was removed from the Eiffel Tower. 26 July–August: around athletes' necks. The eleventh Paris Games and the subsequent Paralympics. (Thibault Camus/AP Photo)

PARIS (AP) — a medal from the Olympics embedded with a fragment of the tower. How about that for a historic victory?

Each gold, silver, and bronze medal that the participants will wear around their necks during the July 26–August 11 Paris Games and Paralympics will be affixed with a polished, hexagon-shaped piece of iron that was retrieved from the famous historic location.

On Thursday, the organizers of the games revealed its ground-breaking design.

LeBron James has two gold medals and a bronze from London, Beijing, as well as Athens, while Simone Biles has seven medals from her previous two Olympics. However, none of the almost 36,600 other medal winners or the athletes aiming for the Paris Games

In the 29 prior Summer Olympics since 1896, they had just one such event.

The medal winners from Paris will carry France and its history with them after making history at the Games.

Here's a closer look at the medals that will definitely surprise you:

Do these actual fragments of the Eiffel Tower exist?

Indeed. 18,038 iron pieces make up the tower, which is 1,083 feet (1,063 meters) high. However, it's also beginning to seem a bit dated. The tower was only supposed to exist for 20 years when it was constructed for the 1889 World's Fair, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of French Revolution architect Gustave Eiffel's birth.

Rather, it lasts longer because to regular maintenance and occasional rejuvenation procedures. The 135-year-old tower participated in the last two Games, which were held in Paris in 1900 and 1924.

Each of the Olympic medals has 18 grams—roughly two-thirds of an ounce—of iron buried in the core.

These were cut from girders and other parts that had been replaced from the Eiffel Tower during renovations, and they were kept for protection, according to Joachim Ronsin, director of design for the organizing committee for the Paris Games.

This idea emerged from various conversations. We came to understand that the Eiffel Tower is a globally recognized landmark," Roncin said. "Hey, what if we got in touch with the company that operates the Eiffel Tower to see if we could get something that will have the Eiffel Tower integrated into the medal?" we thought to ourselves.

The business accepted, and as he put it, "the dream became reality." "It's actually a piece of metal taken that extends from the Eiffel Tower"

How were the components made?

They were painted, polished, and varnished for their second life.

The words "Paris 2024" and the Games emblem, which resembles a flame or a woman's face with a stylish bob haircut, are inscribed on them. The irons of the Olympic medals are also inscribed with the five Olympic rings. The three "agitos," or swooshes, that make up the Paralympic logo Paralymptic medals are issued from August 28 to September 8.

The iron pieces in the form of hexagons stand for France. Because of its form, the French frequently refer to their nation as "l'Hexagon the Hexagon".

The medallions were created by the French jewelry firm Chaumet. The 2.5 million rivets that keep the Eiffel Tower together are winked at by the six small clasps that hold the iron pieces in place in the medallions.

The iron bits are surrounded by gold, silver, or bronze discs. The medals glow because of their wrinkling, which reflects light. According to the game organizers, no new metal is mined—all of the metal is recycled.

Are medals from Paris unique?

Indeed. Olympic medals are no longer very noticeable. For the first time, inlaid jade discs were included on Olympic medals from the 2008 Beijing Games. However, the only host city has pieces of any well-known landmark is Paris.

"Getting a gold medal is already incredible," Ronsin said. However, we felt the Eiffel Tower would be the perfect finishing touch to give it a French flair."

Having a portion of it equates to having a portion of history.

The reverse side of the Olympic medals features Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of triumph, as she has in every Games since 1928. However, Paris has also erected a little replica of the Eiffel Tower on that side, defying convention.

The Paralympic medals' reverse side depicts a perspective of the tower as if seen from below. "Paris 2024" contains braille writing on the sides with one for gold, two for silver, and three for bronze marks for those who are blind or visually challenged.

by figures

Approximately 2,600 of the 5,084 medals produced by the Paris Mint are for the Olympics, and 2,400 are for the Paralympics. It is more probable

Will need to be more than. Some will be kept in storage in the unlikely event that the medals need to be redistributed after the Games.

Recipients of medals who subsequently test positive for drugs lose their honors. Some visit the muse. It is possible to destroy any other spare components.

The 529-gram gold medals are not made entirely of pure gold. They have a six grams of gold plating over their silver construction.

Silver has a mass of 525 grams.

Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc weighing 455 grams.

The medals are 9.2 millimeters in thickness and 85 millimeters in width.

They will arrive from Chaumet in a dark blue package with a document proving the iron components came from the Eiffel Tower Operating Company.

from the memorial. The medals have no set monetary worth according to the Paris organizers.