Medals have been presented to event winners and runners-up since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. For each host city, different medals are minted and the designs and sizes have changed through time. Explore them by clicking on the medals below.
The biggest Summer Olympics medals to date. Artist David Watkins says the key symbols on front and back juxtapose the goddess Nike, for the spirit and tradition of the Games, and the River Thames, for the city of London. On the back of the medals is the 2012 branding, representing the modern city as a jewel-like, geological growth. The logo is shown against a 'pick-up-sticks' grid which radiates the energy of athletes and a sense of pulling together. The River Thames runs through the middle as a celebratory ribbon. The bowl-like background recalls ancient amphitheatres, with a square balancing the circle to give a sense of place. The sport and discipline is engraved on the rim of each medal, all of which will be produced by the Royal Mint at Llantrisant, South Wales.
With only two organized teams in the country, wheelchair lacrosse remains in its infancy, but organizers at a demonstration for veterans at the Palo Alto VA insisted the sport would become the next paralympic hit.
When Delhi hosted the Commonwealth Games in October, they cut preparations so fine that they were still laying turf in the athletics stadium hours before events were due to start.
Tied in with a bridge collapse and filthy conditions in the athletes’ village the games looked destined to be remembered more for events off the track rather than on it.
But, as these newly released aerial photos of the London 2012 site show, it appears there will be no such panic when the capital hosts the games.
Taking shape: The Olympic stadium, the centre-piece of the park, is nearing completion - with seats installed and the outline of the track clearly visible
Bird's eye view: The rest of the city stretches into the background as the stadium and aquatics centre dominate the Stratford skyline
Regeneration: The entire Olympic Park and beyond can be seen here, with the media and broadcast centre in the foreground and various venues nearing completion
Eighteen months before competiton gets underway, nearly 75 per cent of construction is now complete, with main venues due to be finished next year ahead of test events.
The pictures were released to tie in with another half-yearly inspection by the International Olympic Committee Co-ordination Commission for London.
Already, from the outside at least, buildings including the media centre, handball and basketball arenas are looking complete.
Distinctive: The iconic roof of the aquatics centre may appear complete, but the scaffolding suggests otherwise
Speed freak: Great Britain will hope to build on its cycling success in the velodrome
And the athletes’ village, the source of so many problems in Delhi, already appears to be catching up with the Indian capital as the high-rise blocks which will house an estimated 10,500 athletes take shape.
Inside the showpiece stadium in Stratford, east London, seats are already installed in some parts while the outline of the track and field can be seen clearly in the mud.
However the curtain wrap that was expected to encase the stadium will now no longer form part of the construction.
Elsewhere, the curved roofs of the velodrome and aquatics centre stand out on the skyline, although the scaffolding around the pool shows there is still work to be done.
Slam dunk: The basketball arena, with its squidgy looking exterior, already appears ready for players and officials
Copper load of this: The roof of the handball arena has been made out of the metal
Speaking about the project, Olympic Delivery Authority Chairman John Armitt said: 'This year is the toughest in terms of construction and we are at our busiest.
‘We will enter 2011 with the confidence that more than three quarters of the construction project is complete and that all milestones to date have been achieved.
‘We remain on schedule and within budget but are not complacent about the challenge that lies ahead.’
Despite their still being some way to go with construction on some parts of the Olympic Park, the latest A-Z of the capital has included the 500-acre site in its pages.
The new map of the east end site shows the aquatics centre, velodrome and main stadium as well as updated rail links at Stratford international.
Home to the athletes: Like a small town springing up, the competitors' village will house around 10,500 participants during the Games
And London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe said: ‘East London is being transformed. Its regeneration is creating a legacy of new communities, new housing, and state-of-the-art sporting facilities that will be used for many years to come.
‘Over the next year, we look forward to seeing the changing London skyline as the Park vision become a reality.’
On the map: The new edition of the London A-Z clearly shows the Olympic Park's 500-acre site
The inspectors will be in the capital between Wednesday and Friday, and with the venues in good shape, are expected to concentrate on the huge amount of operational detail such as ticketing, transport, culture and volunteers as well as the test events.
They will also look for reassurances that the changes to the marathon route are now in place and that organisers are trying to patch up relations with East End councils.
The decision to move the end of the marathon from the Olympic Stadium to the Mall in central London was done with the blessing of the IOC, but Tower Hamlets council is seeking a judicial review of the decision to change the route which has led to their borough missing out.
The news that quadruple amputee Philippe Croizon swam the English Channel over the weekend reminded me of so many people I’ve written about, that I had to look in my files and bring you another inspirational list of people who are labeled as disabled in one way or another, but who still accomplished exactly what they were not supposed to be able to do.
1. Tom Willis
Tom Willis is a motivational speaker from San Diego who has no arms. He has a small appendage on his left side resembling a partial hand, but not on his right side. Willis arranged to throw out the first pitch at a 2008 San Diego Padres game through the TV station that broadcast the games. He pitched right across the plate with his foot and drew national attention. That experience led to Willis’ ambition to throw out a first pitch at every major league baseball stadium. The Pitch for Awareness National Tour takes Willis to different cities where he offers his motivational program to schools and civic organizations. He’s pitched at ten stadiums so far this year, and is scheduled next at the Texas Rangers game on September 30th.
2. Gabe Marsh
Ed and Ann Marsh of Guntersville, Alabama have birthed, adopted, or fostered 60 children altogether. Ann Marsh taught them all to swim for their own safety, and saw many of them on the Guntersville swim team. Then in 2004, they took home newborn Gabe, who had no legs and only one full arm. But Gabe wanted to swim like the rest of the kids, so at age five he jumped in with them -and swam! Now six years old, Gabe swims on the local team like his siblings. And he’s gaining speed with every meet.
3. Cody McCasland
Cody McCasland was delivered prematurely in 2001 missing several bones in his legs, and had other birth defects as well. He was not expected to live for more than a few days. Cody underwent multiple surgeries to correct defects in his organs and limbs. His legs were amputated in 2003. That same afternoon, Cody was caught trying to walk on his stumps! He was fitted with prosthetic legs and learned to walk immediately -and never looked back. He started using running prosthetics at age five. Cody runs, swims, plays games, and competes in athletic competitions. He’s won gold medals for both swimming and running, and hopes to represent the US in the Paralympic Games someday. At just short of nine years old, Cody is also busy speaking to groups about limb differences and promotes the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
4. Josh Sundquist
Josh Sundquist was nine when his left leg was amputated due to bone cancer. He took up skiing at age 13, and was a member of the 2006 U.S. Paralympic Ski Team. Sundquist is also the founder of a social networking site for amputees, LessThanFour.org. His book, Just Don’t Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain, became a best seller when it was released earlier this year. But that’s not all: Sundquist is a rapper, a dancer, and a wit, as you’ll see in The Amputee Rap.
5. Carly Fleischmann
Carly Fleischmann doesn’t speak. Her parents thought their severely autistic daughter would never communicate with other people. However, they devoted their lives to providing education and intensive therapy for Carly, which paid off spectacularly when she was eleven years old -that’s when she was introduced to a computer. Carly stunned her family and therapists by typing words almost immediately. The girl who never spoke poured her heart out about what autism is like. Now fourteen years old, Carly still doesn’t speak, but communicates with her family and teachers by computer, and everyone else through her website and her Facebook page.
6. Liu Wei
Liu Wei touched a wire and was electrocuted at age ten. He spent 45 days in the hospital and his arms had to be amputated. Liu’s parents insisted he learn to feed himself without arms so he could be independent. He became adept at using his feet, and at age 18 began to learn piano. Now 23, Liu performed on the TV series China’s Got Talent this past summer and brought the crowd to tears with his performance, playing the piano with his toes.
“For people like me, there were only two options. One was to abandon all dreams, which would lead to a quick, hopeless death. The other was to struggle without arms to live an outstanding life,” Liu explained to the judges on “China’s Got Talent.” Thankfully, Liu chose the latter option.
7. Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton was an accomplished amateur competitive surfer at age 13 and planned to surf professionally as an adult. But on October 31st, 2003, a tiger shark bit her left arm off as she was surfing in Hawaii. Even without her arm, Hamilton did not want to give up surfing. Within a month of the attack, she was back in the water. Not only did she have to relearn how to surf, but she had to face the fear that she might encounter another shark. In fact, she’s seen sharks while surfing a few times. Hamilton was awarded an ESPY in the category Best Comeback by an Athlete in 2004. By 2005, she was surfing competitively again, and turned pro in 2008. Hamilton wrote and produced the award-winning 2007 documentary of her life, Heart of a Soul Surfer. Hamilton has also appeared on numerous TV shows.
8. Callum Truscott
If you had no legs, you would, of course, want to play football (soccer). Callum Truscott does just that, on his school team of able-bodied classmates. The 12-year-old from St Austell, Cornwall, participates in swimming competitions and is taking dance classes as well. Callum was born with legs that end just below the knees. He wears prosthetics for soccer, rugby, and cricket. Although safety rules prevent him from playing official rugby matches, he is a star on the football team. Callum is also an endurance swimmer, recently beating most of his classmates in a 1,500 meter race. He wants to become a sports instructor someday.
9. Vinod Thakur
Vinod Thakur was born without legs. He learned to walk on his hands, and made his living repairing cell phones in New Delhi. Thakur taught himself to dance by watching hip-hop videos on the internet, and after only five months of practice, auditioned for the TV show India’s Got Talent. His performance in the first round of competition made him an instant star on the subcontinent. Thakur would like to open a dance school where he can teach other disabled people to dance.
10. Philippe Croizon
Philippe Croizon is a 42-year-old French quadruple amputee. In 1994, he was hit by 20,000 volts of electricity from a power line while working with a television antenna, causing so much damage that all his limbs had to be at least partially removed. Saturday, Croizon became the first quadruple amputee ever to swim the English Channel, which you can watch in this video. He expected the crossing to take around 24 hours, but completed it in just over 13 hours, using prosthetic flippers. Croizon’s next endeavor? He plans to swim the Strait of Gibraltor!
Soccer City in Johannesburg could host the Olympic Games in 2020
South Africa hopes to follow up its hosting of the football World Cup by staging the Olympics after confirming it plans to bid for the 2020 Games.
The country's Olympic committee has invited potential host cities to "state their intention of being involved".
Organisers hope that the success of this year's World Cup will help lead to the first Olympics on African soil.
The International Olympic Committee has yet to begin the selection process but a host is set to be named in mid-2013.
Other cities who have expressed an interest in bidding are Budapest in Hungary, Busan in South Korea, this year's Commonwealth Games hosts Delhi in India, while Taiwan, Dubai and Italy are also expected to bid.
Cape Town beat off competition from Durban and Johannesburg for the South African bid to host the 2004 Games but was well beaten into third place in the overall campaign by Athens.
"Our intention is to provide a world-class city capable of hosting Africa's first Olympic Games in 2020," said Sascoc chief executive Tubby Reddy.
The move comes after President Jacob Zuma publicly declared the World Cup a success and expressed confidence that South Africa could do a similarly excellent job in 2020.
"For our eyes to be on 2020, we are not weary, because we have the facilities," he said.
IOC president Jacques Rogge met with Zuma in South Africa over the weekend and attended Sunday's World Cup final at Soccer City.
"From the start, when South Africa were named as World Cup hosts, we all knew the country would be able to organise the tournament," said Rogge on Monday.
"Now it is up to you as a nation to decide if you want to host this [the Olympics] event."
South Africa built several new stadiums for the World Cup, while infrastructure improvements in transport, energy and communications also took place.
upi.com —Photo highlights for Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver Canada. From Hockey and Bobsled to Cross Country and Speed Skating.
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Croatia's Ivica Kostelic kisses the camera after winning silver in the Men's' Slalom during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in Whistler, Canada on February 27, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo | Permalink
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Germany's Anna Friesinger-Postma looks at her team's time after sliding across the finish line after Germany raced the USA in a heat during team pursuit speed skating at the Richmond Olympic Oval in Vancouver, Canada, during the 2010 Winter Olympics on February 27, 2010. Friesinger-Postma had a problem with a skate, causing her to cross the finish line sliding. Despite the problem Germany defeated the USA and went on to win gold. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg | License Photo | Permalink
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Austria's Benjamin Raich competes in the Men's' Slalom during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in Whistler, Canada on February 27, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo | Permalink
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The USA 1 four-man bobsleigh team driver Steven Holcomb celebrates as the sleigh finishes their last heat in the four-man bobsleigh event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, Canada on February 27, 2010. The team of Holcomb, along with Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curtis Tomasevicz won the gold medal in the event. UPI/Brian Kersey | License Photo | Permalink
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Curtis Tomasevicz (L) of the United States (C) celebrates with teammates Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler (R) after winning a gold medal in the four-man bobsleigh event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, Canada on February 27, 2010. UPI/Brian Kersey | Permalink
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Finland's Niklas Hagman looks on as the puck gets by Slovakia's Jaroslav Halak for a goal in the first period of the bronze medal men's ice hockey game at Canada Hockey Place in Vancouver, Canada, during the 2010 Winter Olympics on February 27, 2010. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg | License Photo | Permalink
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USA's Bode Miller stands on the side of the course after missing a gate in the Men's' Slalom during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in Whistler, Canada on February 27, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | Permalink
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Finland celebrates their win over Slovakia in the bronze medal men's ice hockey game at Canada Hockey Place in Vancouver, Canada, during the 2010 Winter Olympics on February 27, 2010. Finland beat Slovakia 5-3. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg | License Photo | Permalink
Lindsey Vonn has proven time and again to be one of the greatest American athletes competing today. And, not to objectify women or anything, but she's also super pretty. She's like if Michael Jordan was good at sports.
I have probably watched more curling, men's and women's, in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics than any other event.
Some may think it's boring, but I enjoy watching matches because as they say, it's like chess on ice. There is so much strategy to the game and the only one to get inside your head is yourself.
Like everything else, people watch certain sports because of who play them, and curling is no different as there are plenty of attractive women on this ice.
That may be one reason I watch, but it's also because of the fact that curling only gets national television exposure every four years at the Olympics.
I also like the lingo of the sport of curling: Curlers throw the 'rock' or 'stone' in each 'end', with the last one named the 'hammer'. They play on a 'sheet' to get the stones into the 'house' with the main goal of landing on the 'button'.
I'm liking the sport more and more everytime I watch a match. Plus, these are everyday women who just happened to pick up curling as a sidenote early on, purely because they loved it.
These athletes aren't like hockey players. The women have normal jobs back home because there is very little to no money in being a professional curler, so the Olympics is truly their chance at glory.
The following ladies are my top 15 curlers that I'm watching for, and I apologize if your favorite fails to make this list.
Had I known that curlers look like this, I might have taken up curling at a local club growing up and practiced my 'draw' shot.
No. 14: Anna Svard (Sweden)
You knew there had to be at least one Swede on this list.
In Vancouver, Svard is in the lead for the Swedish team, who are the 2006 gold medalists from Turin.
The 36-year-old from Taby, Sweden, is a traffic-planning engineer and consultant back home.
Svard also gets to play with her sister in Canada, as Kajsa Bergstrom is also a member of the 2010 team.
Some of her hobbies include traveling, reading, sports, and designing.
No. 13: Corinna Scholz (Germany)
Scholz hails from Bernbeuren, Germany, and my German heritage has no problem with women from Deutschland making this list.
The 20-year-old Scholz was named as the alternate for the German team for the 2010 Vancouver Games.
She was also the alternate on Germany's gold medal team in the 2009 Aberdeen European Championships, where she was able to play the lead on several occasions.
No. 12: Cheryl Benard (Canada)
The 43-year-old Bernard is the skip for the home Canadian team, looking to finish with the gold medal.
Both of Bernard's parents curled, and she practically grew up at the local curling club.
She started her own insurance company at age 23 and sold it 13 years later to spend more time with her family.
Bernard could easily be classified as a cougar: She, along with other curlers, posed for a 36-month calendar baring all, trying to fund each of their ways further into the competition.
This may or may not be Bernard's backside that is bared in the top picture here: http://www.hothletes.com/?tag=curling
No. 11: Anna Sidorova (Russia)
One of the younger curlers in Vancouver, the 19-year-old Sidorova is from Moscow, Russia, like other members of her team, and was a last minute replacement of Olga Jarkova.
She came into 2010 as the alternate but has skipped two matches, making her the youngest skip in Vancouver as Great Britain's Eve Muirhead is ten months older.
Sidorova is a student at Russian State University of Humanities and like most teenage girls, lists shopping as one of her hobbies.
No. 10: Denise Dupont (Denmark)
Denise Dupont comes in as the third on the Denmark team, and the 25-year-old was born in Gulstrop, Denmark.
Her younger sister Madeleine is the alternate in Vancouver for the Danes.
Denise is studying nutrition and health sciences back in her home country and enjoys listening to music, working out, and spending time with friends.
The elder Dupont speaks five languages: Danish, english, swedish, german, and norwegian making it hard for opponents to discuss strategy while she is within an ear shot.
No. 9: Eve Muirhead (Great Britain)
As mentioned earlier, the 19-year-old Muirhead came into the Vancouver Games as the youngest skip, with Great Britain, but was later bested by Russia's Sidorova.
Muirhead is quite the talented young lady: She also golfs and plays the bagpipes, along with curling.
As she hails from Pitlochry, Scotland, all that doesn't surprise me, but she has come up with some big shots in Canada.
Muirhead comes from a curling family as her father, Gordon, helped the men's team place fifth in the 1992 Olympics and her brother, Glen, skipped for Scotland at the 2008 World Junior Championships.
The greatest thing about Muirhead: the Scottish accent, of course.
No. 8: Irene Schori (Switzerland)
Schori was named as the alternate for the Swiss team in Vancouver and hails from Glattpark, Switzerland.
She also posed for that same curling calendar mentioned with Canada's Bernard, and this was one of Schori's tamer pictures.
The 26-year-old was relatively unknown outside of Switzerland before the 2010 Olympics, but if she keeps doing photos shoots like this, she'll make a name for herself in no time.
No. 7: Stella Heiss (Germany)
Heiss is the youngest curler in Vancouver, at 17-years-old, and is from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
She was named as the alternate for the Germans but has thrown the lead in Canada as well.
Heiss is the daughter of former German men's hockey goaltender, Josef Heiss.
As long as she continues curling, she should be the future of curling for Germany, as two of its current curlers are in their mid-40s.
No 6: Carmen Schaefer (Switzerland)
Schaefer is the 29-year-old third for the Swiss team, who has experience as a skip.
She skipped for the junior team in 2000 and '01, placing fifth in '00 and fourth in '01, losing to Team USA 5-3 in the bronze medal match.
Schaefer made her debut with the Swiss when she was named as an alternate during the 1999 World Junior Champions but failed to play a match.
She lists dancing, cycling, jogging, and photography as her hobbies and as you can see in the picture, might be the only curler in Vancouver with a tongue piercing.
No. 5: Ekaterina Galkina (Russia)
The second Russian on this list, Galkina is the lead for Russia in Vancouver.
The 21-year-old, like her teammates, comes from Moscow, where she is studying management and international relations at Russian State University of Humanities.
Galkina, nicknamed Katja, also enjoys swimming, synchronized swimming, dancing, singing, and plain-old partying when she's not curling.
Not that's a woman who knows how to keep herself busy.
No. 4: Liudmila Privivkova (Russia)
The third and final Russian, Privivkova is the 23-year-old skip while in Vancouver.
She too is from Moscow, where she is a student of economics at the Mati Russian State Technical University.
Privivkova lists watching movies as one of her hobbies, and perhaps there is a movie about curling in the works out there somewhere (one that is on a more serious note than the 2002 flick "Men With Brooms", and maybe focusing on the women's game).
No. 3: Madeleine Dupont (Denmark)
The younger Dupont trumps her older sister on this list, as the 22-year old Madeleine was named as Denmark's alternate in the 2010 Olympics.
She was born in Hvidorve, Denmark and only speaks three languages—danish, english, and german—needing to learn two more to catch up with her big sis.
Madeleine is studying commerce at the Copenhagen Business School back in Denmark making her knowledge of three languages even more important.
No. 2: Nicole Joraanstad (USA)
The homer in me made the 29-year-old Joraanstad No. 2, as she is the second for Team USA while in Vancouver.
The homer vote not only comes from her being a member of Team USA, but also being a Wisconsinite, as Joraanstad comes from Madison, where she works as a senior corporate recruiter for TDS Telecom.
Joraanstad also has two curling related tattoos, including one of a stone with USA on her lower back and acts as the team's manager, dealing with travel arrangements and filling out the various paperwork.
She moved from Seattle, Wash. to Madison not only to attend the University of Wisconsin for business (receiving a degree) but also to be closer to the heart of curling.
On June 4, 2008, she received the Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club 2008 Sportswoman of the Year Award.
Joraanstad started curling at the late age of 15 but has quickly improved as shown by her playing in the Olympics.
She may be the runner-up on my list, but careful guys, she's engaged and set to be married this July back in Madison.
Her 2010 Olympic teammates in Natalie Nicholson, Allison Pottinger, and Debbie McCormick are all scheduled to be in the bridal party, proving just how close Team USA is.
No. 1: Melanie Robillard (Germany)
When I found this picture, there was no doubt in my mind who the hottest curler of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics was.
In hopes of gaining attention for her sport, the 27-year-old Robillard also posed in that pre-mentioned calendar. I think it worked, as more people should be watching curling now.
Too bad she covers up on the ice, although she might get a little cold on the 'sheet' without a shirt.
Robillard was born in Canada, lives in Belgium and competes as the third for Germany, speaking german, french, and english.
She is a law student at the University of Brussels in Belgium and enjoys skiing, cycling, travelling and ... keeping herself fit.
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All you art collectors out there. Here is a chance to get a Giclee copy of some of Ian M Sherwin work. Ian is planning on doing a whole series of Marblehead, Massachusetts paintings. His work is amazing.
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