Japan unveils 2020 Olympic medals

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Tokyo on Wednesday unveiled its gold, silver and bronze Olympics medals as it began one-year countdown to the 2020 Olympic Games, which starts on July 24, 2020.

Tokyo2020 -- the official Instagram handle of Olympic Games host for next year -- Wednesday released a video revealing the design of “#Tokyo2020 Olympic Medals”.

According to Japanese Kyodo news agency, the selection panel for medal designing received more than 400 entries and Japanese designer Junichi Kawanishi emerged as winner.

Kawanishi has continued the tradition of depicting Nike, the mythical Greek goddess of victory, on front of the medal while he has designed Olympic rings and Tokyo 2020 logo inside a swirl design on its back.

The depiction of Nike is made mandatory by the International Olympic Committee while name of the event will be inscribed on sides of the medals for which they are presented.

“Approximately 5,000 medals are being produced using metal recycled from mobile phones and other small electronic devices,” Kyodo said.

The blind friendly medals, made of gold and silver, are heaviest ever used during the Games. They have a diameter of 85 millimeters weighing between 556 and 550 grams, respectively.

The medals are designed to allow blind people to “distinguish the color of the medal by touching the ribbon”, according to the news agency.

Recycled polyester with traditional Japanese design motifs has been used for medal ribbons for hanging purposes. The Tokyo 2020 logo has been incorporated on it.

“The gold medals are pure silver plated with about six grams of gold. The silver medals are pure silver, while the bronze medals are made from gunmetal, a corrosion-resistant form of bronze containing zinc,” the report said.

The games will start from July 24, 2020 and will end on Aug. 09 followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 25-Sept. 6.

Nearly 3.22 million tickets have already been sold out during the first domestic sales phase. The figure is expected to exceed 9 million, Kyodo news said.