Usually, one of the last things announced in the run-up to the Olympics is the design of the medals.  The only thing guaranteed is that the medals will be made of gold, silver, and bronze.  Other than that, every location will have a different design of medal.  No two locations have medals that are exactly alike, and in the case of Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics, no two medals will be exactly alike.

Among the many other odd features, the scenes depicted on the 615 Winter Olympic and 399 Paralympic medals will be individual parts of a larger story.  If you could put them together, you’d get a giant pair of images.  That’s pretty cool; what’s not cool is the fact that the medals are all weirdly undulating.  They look as if someone messed up the casting of the medals, but they decided to use them anyway in spite of the warping!

You work all your life to become the best ski jumper (or whatever) and drop a fortune on training, costumes, and equipment.  When you finally ascend to the greatest heights your sport has to offer, they give you a crooked, goofy-looking medal.   Not only do you have to spend the rest of your life explaining that you won a gold medal for ice dancing, you also have to explain that your medal is supposed to look like that!

Tags: Olympics, Winter Olympics, Vancouver 2010, gold medals, unusual awards, medals, sports, Omer Arbel, Paralympic Games, Olympic Games, odd designs

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