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Olympic Summer Games Medals

 


Olympic Summer Games
Medals

 

 

Obverse
Reverse
Details
1896 Athens medal reverse
1896 Athens

First place winners were awarded a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma. Those in second place were given a copper medal, a branch of laurel and a diploma. The obverse side of the medal has Zeus' face along with his hand holding a globe with the winged victory on it and the caption in Greek "Olympia". The reverse side had the Acropolis site with the caption in Greek "International Olympic Games in Athens in 1896."
1900 Paris medal obverse
1900 Paris medal reverse
1900 Paris

On the obverse, a winged goddess holding laurel branches in both hands, arms raised. In the background, underneath, a view of the city of Paris and the monuments of the Universal Exhibition. On the reverse, a victorious athlete standing on a podium holding a laurel branch in his right hand, arm raised. In the background, a stadium and the Acropolis of Athens.
1904 Saint Louis medal obverse
1904 Saint Louis medal reverse
1904 Saint Louis

On the obverse, an athlete standing on some steps, holding a laurel crown in his right hand, symbol of victory, and raising his left arm. In the background, a bas relief illustrating the sports disciplines from Antiquity. Behind, a Greek temple. Above the figure of the athlete, the inscription "Olympiad" and on the rock bottom right "1904". On the reverse, Nike, goddess of victory, standing on a globe. She is holding a laurel crown in her left hand and a palm leaf in her right hand. In front of her, a great crown, with in the centre a space for the name of the sports discipline. Behind Nike, the bust of Zeus on a plinth. The inscription "Universal Exposition St.-Louis USA". The design of these two sides was inspired by the medal of the 1896 Athens Games and 1900 Paris Games.
1908 London medal obverse
1908 London medal reverse
1908 London

On the obverse, two female figures placing a laurel crown on the head of a young victorious athlete, with, in the bottom half, the inscription "OLYMPIC GAMES LONDON 1908". On the reverse, the figure of St.-George, patron saint of England. Legend says that he was a fighting saint who slew a dragon to free a princess.
1912 Stockholm medal obverse
1912 Stockholm medal reverse
1912 Stockholm

On the obverse, two female figures placing a laurel crown on the head of young victorious athlete. On the reverse, a herald proclaiming the opening of the Games with, on the left, the statue of Ling, the founder of the institutions and the Swedish gym system. All around, the inscription "OLYMPISKA SPELEN STOCKHOLM 1912".
1920 Antwerp medal obverse
1920 Antwerp reverse
1920 Antwerp

On the obverse, a tall, naked athlete, holding a palm leaf and a laurel crown, symbols of victory, in his left hand. Behind him, the figure of the Renomm?e playing the trumpet. In the background, a frieze with a Greek motif with the inscription "VII OLYMPIADE" underneath. On the reverse, the Antwerp monument, commemorating the legend of Brabo throwing the hand of the giant Druoon Antigoon, who had been terrorizing the river, into the Schelde. The legend sais that in Antiquity, this cruel giant forced all vessels on the river to pay a toll. If the captain refused to pay, he cut off his hand. The giant spread terror amongst the sailors for many long years, until the day he met Silvius Brabo. This courageous Roman soldier dared to take on the giant and succeeded in killing him. As revenge for his victims, he cut off the giant's hand and threw it into the river. This is where the name of the city comes from. "Antwerp" means "thrown hand". In the background the cathedral and port of Antwerp. In the top half, the inscription "ANVERS MCMXX". A total of 1.250 copies were made: 450 gold medals, 400 silver medals and the same number in bronze.
1924 Paris medal obverse
1924 Paris medal reverse
1924 Paris

On the obverse, a naked victorious athlete, taking the hand of his rival, seated on the ground, to help him to get up. Underneath, the Olympic rings. On the reverse, a harp as a symbol of the cultural program of the Games and the different sports equipment, winter as well as summer, forming an arch. In the centre, the inscription "VIIIe OLYMPIADE PARIS 1924". A total of 912 copies were made: 304 gold medals and the same number of silver medals, as well as 306 bronze medals.
1928 Amsterdam medal obverse
1928 Amsterdam medal reverse
1928 Amsterdam

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "IXe OLYMPIADE AMSTERDAM 1928". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd with the Olympic stadium in the background.
(from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organizing Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1932 Los Angeles medal obverse
1932 Los Angeles reverse
1932 Los Angeles

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "Xth OLYMPIAD LOS ANGELES 1932". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background.
(From 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1936 Berlin obverse
1936 Berlin reverse
1936 Berlin

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee in 1921. On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. (from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1948 London medal obverse
1948 London medal reverse
1948 London

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "XIV OLYMPIAD LONDON 1948". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. (from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1952 Helsinki medal obverse
1952 Helsinki medal reverse
1952 Helsinki

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "XV OLYMPIA HELSINKI 1952". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. (from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1956 Melbourne/Stockholm medal obverse
1956 Melbourne/Stockholm reverse
1956 Melbourne/Stockholm

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "XVIth OLYMPIAD MELBOURNE 1956". On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. (from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1960 Rome medal obverse
1960 Rome medal reverse
1960 Rome

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee in 1921. For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: "GIOCCHI DELLA XVII OLIMPIADE ROMA MCMLX". The medals in Rome were set in a circle of bronze featuring a laurel wreath matched with a chain also designed like a sequence of bronze laurel leaves. On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. (from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1964 Tokyo medal obverse
1964 Tokyo medal reverse
1964 Tokyo

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee in 1921. On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. (from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1968 Mexico medal obverse
1968 Mexico reverse
1968 Mexico

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. A design used since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli and chosen after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee in 1921.
For these Games, the picture of victory is accompanied by the specific inscription: “XIX OLIMPIADA MEXICO 1968”. On the reverse, an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background. (from 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Games were identical. The Organising Committee for the Games in Munich in 1972 broke new ground by having a different reverse which was designed by Gerhard Marcks.)
1972 Munich medal obverse
1972 Munich medal reverse
1972 Munich

On the obverse, the traditional goddess of victory, a design used since the 1928 Amsterdam Games, accompanied by the specific inscription "XX Olympiade Munchen 1972".
On the reverse, Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda, the patrons of sports competitions and friendship, represented by two naked youths. This design was created by Gerhard Marcks, one of the last representatives of the Bauhaus.
1976 Montreal medal obverse
1976 Montreal medal reverse
1976 Montreal

On the obverse, the design of Guiseppe Cassioli, created for the Amsterdam Games in 1928. The principal symbols are Victory, Fraternity and Universality. The reverse was designed as intentionally bare. It comprises a stylized laurel crown, symbol of victory since the Games of Antiquity, and the emblem of the Montreal Games.
1980 Moscow medal obverse
1980 Moscow reverse
1980 Moscow

On the obverse, the traditional Olympic symbol of victory: the goddess Nike holding a laurel wreath; in the lower right-hand corner, a fragment of the colisseum and above it, the inscription in Cyrillic XXII Olimpiady Moskva 1980 (Games of the XXII Olympiad Moscow 1980). On the reverse, a stylized Olympic Bowl with a burning flame against the background of a stadium arena. The upper right-hand segment carries the insignia of the Moscow Olympics. The name of the sport appears on the rim.
1984 Los Angeles medal obverse
1984 Los Angeles reverse
1984 Los Angeles

The medals for 1984 were an adaptation of the original design by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli created for the 1928 Games in Amsterdam. The obverse of the medal features the ancient coliseum and the goddess of victory holding a winner's crown. The reverse of the medal features a victorious athlete, a palm branch carried by jubilant athletes and a stadium in the background.
1988 Seoul medal obverse
1988 Seoul reverse
1988 Seoul

On the obverse, the ancient coliseum and the goddess of victory holding the laurel crowns and the caption: "XXIV Olympiad Seoul 1988". On the reverse, a dove, the symbol of peace, soaring up, holding a laurel branch in its mouth and the Seoul Olympic sash composed of three Taeguk patterns from the Korean national flag and the five Olympic rings.
1992 Barcelona medal obverse
1992 Barcelona medal reverse
1992 Barcelona

On the obverse, a medallion 56mm in diameter, superimposed on the medal and slightly off-centre, on which the image of the goddess of victory appeared, drawn in a Modernist style, together with the words "XXV Olimpiada Barcelona 1992".On the reverse the official emblem of the Barcelona Games. The medal was designed by the sculptor Xavier Corbeo.
1996 Atlanta medal obverse
1996 Atlanta medal reverse
1996 Atlanta

On the obverse, a drawing that has been in use since the Amsterdam Games of 1928, representing Nike, the goddess of victory, holding palms in her left hand, and, in her right hand, held over her head, a winner's crown.
On the reverse, the logo of the 1996 Games and a stylized olive branch. In total, 633 gold medals, 635 silver, and 661 bronze medals were cast for these Games.
2000 Sydney medal obverse
2000 Sydney medal reverse
2000 Sydney

The customary symbols, including the Victory Goddess holding a winner's crown, are engraved on the obverse face. The Sydney Opera House, the Olympic torch and the Olympic rings are represented on the reverse. The designers are Australian: Woljciech Pietranik and Brian Thompson.
2004 Athens medal obverse
2004 Athens medal reverse
2004 Athens

The main feature of the medals is the Greek character shown on both sides since their basic side has been changed for the first time since the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928. This is of particular importance as from now on all Olympic medals will reflect the Greek character of the Games as regards both their origin and their revival. On the medals awarded to Olympic athletes from 1928 until the Sydney Games, goddess Nike was seated, holding an ear of corn in one hand and a wreath in the other. Here, she flies into the stadium bringing victory to the best athlete. The Organizsing Committee has chosen to show the Panathenaic stadium, where the Games were first renewed in 1896. On the obverse, the athlete’s discipline is also engraved. The reverse side of the medal is composed of three elements:
- the eternal flame that was lit in Olympia and traveled
  through the five continents by way of the 2004 Torch
  Relay
- the opening lines of Pindar's Eighth Olympic Ode
  composed in 460 BC to honor the victory of Alkimedon
  of Aegina in wrestling
- the Athens 2004 Olympic Games emblem.
The design of the Medal was created by Elena Votsi.

Also see the Olympic Winter Games medals

Credit: IOC/Olympic Museum Collections

  

 
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