Designed by the model-maker for Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 2100 medals created for the 2012 Olympics are the heaviest medals that’ll ever hang around a summer games athlete’s neck yet, at 400 grams each.
At 85mm in diamater, the medals are the largest too, and have meant the British team has had to adjust their formal suits’ pockets so they can fit the 7mm thick medals. Only the Vancouver Winter Olympics’ medals beat the 2012 prizes in size and weight, at double the weight. The previous record for the summer games’ medals were from the Barcelona 1992 games, which weighed 231g each.
Designed by British artist David Watkins, the front of the medals have the Lisa-Simpson-giving-a-blow-job 2012 icon superimposed over the London Thames river and geometric lines that supposedly represent the city’s energy. On the back, the Greek goddess Nike appears out of the Parthenon, representing the game’s spirit.
While the gold medals look like they could be melted down and turned into a nice piece of jewellery, they’re actually only 1.34 per cent gold, with 92.5 per cent of the medal being made from silver, and the rest copper. They’re still solid enough to cause some serious damage if a bar-fight were to break out between athletes in one of London’s East End pubs — jus’ sayin’. [London 2012 via The Telegraph and Reuters]
