One concept for potential Paris Olympic medals in 2024 or 2028 would be extra thick, allowing for three pieces to be taken off the back.
Athletes would be encouraged to give the pieces to three people instrumental in their lives.
French designer Philippe Starck, who created the 1992 Albertville Winter Games torch, said he was asked by triple Olympic canoe champion and Paris 2024 co-bid leader Tony Estanguet to come up with a design.
“Normally a medal tends a sort of witness, a message that says, ‘I was there, I did it, I outdid myself. I went beyond myself. I won. It is extraordinary,’” Starck said via a Paris 2024 translation. “But today more than ever, the truth is that you’re not winning alone. So I wanted this medal to reflect that. If the winner wants to share it, he can share it. It’s a really nice way of truly showing team spirit. The winner can literally take his or her medal ... and separate it into pieces that can be given away. That way, everyone you share it with becomes a witness of such an important moment.”
It’s not an entirely new concept. Last year, the world track and field championships introduced medals for coaches for the first time.
The U.S. Olympic Committee established the Order of Ikkos medals starting with the 2008 Beijing Games, allowing medal-winning athletes to acknowledge one coach.
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An #Olympic medal is #MadeForSharing | A design concept by #Starck to celebrate everyone who helps make a champion #Paris2024 #ReadyFor24 pic.twitter.com/fNVHSSQgXe
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) July 12, 2017