Sportsmen and women are known to be weighed down by the pressure and expectation heaped upon them by coaches, fans and the media. But eventual success in next year’s Olympics could result in a different kind altogether.
It’s been revealed that those large Olympic medals, which the thousands of athletes will be competing for in London next summer, are the heaviest in Summer Olympic history.
The medals weigh in at 400 grams, and at 85mm in diameter, are the largest to boot. In fact, Gizmodo reports that the British team has already had to tweak their formal suits’ pockets so they can fit the 7mm thick medals, which is a confidence we certainly admire. To be sure, though, the Vancouver Winter Olympics’ medals from 2010 still beat out these new ones in both weight and size, weighing twice as much.
(PHOTOS: The Vancouver Winter Olympics)
As for the man behind the medal design, he’s British artist David Watkins, and has utilized the 2012 logo, which still seems to polarize opinion, and superimposed it over the iconic River Thames (its geometric lines represent the energy that courses through London). The back of the medal finds the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, who is there on behalf of Olympic spirit as she steps out of the depiction of the Parthenon (though you can’t help but feel the clothing manufacturer will be delighted with the name association).
When all’s said and done, some 2,100 medals will be awarded during 302 victory ceremonies in more than 30 venues. But if you’re an athlete competing in next year’s Games, you can be dazzled by facts and figures but the salient point will forever remain this: you just want to win one.
(MORE: One Year to Go Until the 2012 Olympics)
Glen Levy is an Executive Producer at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @glenjl. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.