As the medals for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are revealed this Thursday, we take a look back at the surprising fate of a few charms

As the medals for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are revealed this Thursday, we take a look back at the surprising fate of a few charms

Après la mascotte et le relais de la flamme, place désormais aux médailles. MAXPPP – Stéphane Geufroi

Gold, silver or bronze, the prestigious Olympic medals that most professional athletes have dreamed of for more than a century, will be revealed this Thursday, February 8.

The Olympic and Paralympic medals, designed by the Place Vendôme jeweler Chaumet, and manufactured by the Monnaie de Paris, are revealed on Thursday, the first stage in the life of a trophy with a sometimes destiny surprising. 

There was the mascot and the torch relay, it's now the turn of this other strong symbol of the Olympic Games (July 26-August 11) and Paralympic Games (August 28-September 8), the medal, to be revealed after months of conception in the greatest secrecy.

The jeweler Chaumet, owned by LVMH, premium partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, designed and designed the medals in its workshops in Place Vendôme.

Also read: Paris 2024 Olympic Games: "I do not decide on my remuneration or its framework", explains Tony Estanguet, targeted by an investigation

Accustomed to special orders and discretion, Chaumet, born in 1780, created unique pieces for emperors, queens, maharajahs, actresses, dancers… but never sports medals.

No information filtered through during the months that the conception lasted, but we know the figures traditionally imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) such as the presence of the goddess of the victory Athéna Niké and the Panathenaic Stadium on one side, the format or the weight of the medals.

"The format and model of the medals and diplomas will be submitted to the IOC for its prior approval", specifies the charter of the Olympic Games.

A new logo for big goals

The London 2012 Games medals featured the River Thames in an abstract design, accompanied by the competition logo. Four years later, Rio chose a laurel wreath surrounding the logo of its Games.

In 2020, Tokyo proposed a modern design made of chiseled circles around the Tokyo Games logo.

In Paris, all athletes will be able to come "celebrate" their winning of medals every late afternoon, one day after their event, at the Trocadéro, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, at the "Parc des Champions" open to the public.

Some aspire to get on the podium one last time, such as swimmer Florent Manaudou who is aiming for "one last medal", which would be his fifth, he said on France Info or the windsurfer Charline Picon who would like to have a third "even in bronze", according to the Cross.

Others dream of hanging a first one around their neck, like the wheelchair tennis champion Pauline Deroulède or the boxer Wassila Lkhadiri.

The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron believes that the objective of raising France into the "top five" of nations in number of medals "is more achievable than ever”. At the Tokyo Olympics, France won 33, ranking eighth.

The medals in the sock drawer

The medals sometimes experience surprising fates once the Games are over. Boxer Brahim Asloum told Le Parisien that his gold medal won in Sydney in 2000 remained with his parents for four years.

"My mom used to put it under her pillow to sleep", he said. The reward is now at his home, "on display with some rare objects from my career, like my world champion belt", specifies- il.

The double Olympic champion judoka David Douillet confided to the same daily that they are in his "sock drawer".

Three-time Olympic champion athlete Marie-Josée Pérec says she went to "retrieve them from the cellar". "I like knowing I have them. Before, I didn't care. With age, we hold on to things more perhaps…", she said.

Others choose to part with it after years. At the beginning of February, the American Bob Beamon, who won the gold medal with a historic long jump of 8.90 meters at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, put his trophy up for auction . The medal was sold in New York for $441,000.

"The auction was a great way to display the medal, but also to preserve its memory", estimated Bob Beamon, saying he hoped it would go to a buyer who "understands the importance of the athletic feat".

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