The official Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medals, medal ribbon and medals case were revealed to the public on August 25, 2019. Medals for athletes have been used in every games since Tokyo 1964.
The need to create trophies and medals for Para athletes arose at the Stoke Mandeville Games – the predecessor of the Paralympic Games and Paralympic Winter Games – which began in 1948.
While today, as part of the cooperation agreement between the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic committee, medals for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games have to be made of the same materials and be of similar design, in the past, it was up to the local Organising Committee of the Games to produce their own medals.
The Stoke Mandeville Games did not always feature medals. However, they did have trophies and diplomas for the participating athletes.
Medal design
As per the Paralympics press release regarding the medals:
The design is centred around the motif of a traditional Japanese fan, depicting the Paralympic Games as the source of a fresh new wind refreshing the world as well as a shared experience connecting diverse hearts and minds. The kaname, or pivot point, holds all parts of the fan together; here it represents Para athletes bringing people together regardless of nationality or ethnicity. Motifs on the leaves of the fan depict the vitality of people’s hearts and symbolise Japan’s captivating and life-giving natural environment in the form of rocks, flowers, wood, leaves, and water. These are applied with a variety of techniques, producing a textured surface that makes the medals compelling to touch.
Braille letters spell out Tokyo 2020 on the medals’ face. A series of circular indentations on the side of the medals – one for gold, two for silver, three for bronze – make the medal types easy to distinguish by touch, the first time in Paralympic history that this provision has been made for athletes with a vision impairment.
As part of the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medals, like the Olympic medals, are manufactured from recycled precious metals extracted from mobile phones and other small electronic devices donated by the public.
Sakiko Matsumoto, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Medal Designer, said: “I am very grateful that I could take part in these historic Games as a designer. I wanted to keep the athletes front and centre as I conceived this design. I hope these medals bring athletes and the people around them closer together and stirs a fresh new breeze in their hearts.”
Medal Specifications
- Diameter: 85mm
- Thinnest part: 7.7mm
- Thickest part: 12.1mm
- Gold weight: about 556g
- Silver weight: about 550g
- Bronze weight: about 450g
- Gold composition: more than 6 grams of gold plating on pure silver
- Silver composition: pure silver
- Bronze composition: red brass (95% copper and 5% zinc)
- Ribbons: attached to the top of medals
- Side of medal: the name of the event will be engraved in English
Medal ribbon design
The ribbon will employ the traditional Japanese design motifs found in ichimatsu moyo (harmonised chequered patterns) and kasane no irome (traditional kimono layering techniques) in a modern presentation. The ribbon is designed to be a reflection of Japan itself and of the way the country demonstrates “Unity in Diversity”. The design also promotes the Tokyo 2020 brand vision of “Innovation from Harmony”.
Silicone convex lines are applied on the surface of the ribbon so that anyone can recognise the type of medal (gold, silver or bronze) by simply touching it. Chemically recycled polyester fibres that produce less CO2 during their manufacturing process are used. These allow the ribbons to incorporate the Tokyo 2020 core graphic colours and to be extremely durable at the same time.
Medal case design
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games medal case is made of tamo wood (Japanese ash) in the traditional Japanese indigo colour, handmade by the sophisticated Japanese woodworking skills of expert craftsmen.
Each medal case has its own distinct wood fibre pattern highlighted beneath the indigo colour surface, symbolising the diversity of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The round-shaped case and lid, held together with a magnet, slides open to display the medal inside. The medal case comes with a bag made exclusively to carry the medal.
Additionally, all event finalists (1st to 8th) will receive a diploma made from handcrafted Mino washi paper
With inputs from Paralympics.org