The matter was serious. So serious that it was drawn out like a summer evening for almost six years. But the result proves it: for the Olympic and Paralympic medals, as for almost everything else, Paris 2024 does not want to do anything like the others.
The medals, then. They were officially presented Thursday February 8, 169 days before the opening of the Olympic Games. From a distance, they appear classic. Round, in gold, silver or bronze, with a colored ribbon.
But the impression of déjà vu turns out to be deceptive. Without fearing excess audacity, and in compliance with the strict specifications of the IOC, Paris 2024 had the idea of adding a unique touch: a piece of the Eiffel Tower. It appears in the center of each of the Olympic and Paralympic medals, in a hexagonal form.
Martin Fourcade, the former multiple Olympic medalist biathlete, president of the COJO Paris 2024 Athletes' Commission, explained it without having to search for words: “ From the first discussions in 2018, we asked ourselves what a medal should be for an athlete. It is symbolic, but not only that. It must make sense, be beautiful and attractive. The medal is the only material souvenir of the Games. With this piece of the Eiffel Tower, the medalists of the Paris 2024 Games will bring back a piece of history, but also a piece of France and its heritage. »
That's the idea. The approach now. She led the OCOG out of its offices to knock on several doors.
With its discovery in its pocket, the design team of the organizing committee, led by its director Joachim Roncin, first went to the Société d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE). His request, in essence, was as follows: “ We could use a bit of the Eiffel Tower for our medals. Possible ? »
The response was positive. It was explained to the COJO envoys that, as the Eiffel Tower required regular maintenance, a large stock of scrap metal was kept in an undisclosed location. Subject to being stripped, treated and varnished, the material could do the job. Clarification: SETE graciously transferred its waste to the organizing committee.
Second step: find a project owner. Obvious choice, and even contractual: Paris 2024 turned to the LVMH group, one of its premium partners.
One of its many brands, Chaumet, was asked to design a medal set with a piece of the Eiffel Tower. “ We made a series of sketches, with the desire to treat it like a jewel, like a truly special order”, explains Clémentine Massonnat, responsible for the creation of the historic French house, created before the French Revolution.
A visit to Lausanne, where the Paris 2024 team presented its jewels to the IOC in great secrecy, completed the design phase. Joachim Roncin assures him with a hand on his heart: “ The IOC was attracted from the start, they found the idea brilliant. »
The rest, and end, involves one last actor. The production of the 5.084 medals – 2618 for the Olympic Games, 2466 for the Paralympics, i.e. more than the planned number of medalists, in order to take into account the contingencies established by the IOC – will be entrusted to the Mint of Paris.
The numbers, finally. Each medal has a diameter of 85 mm and a thickness of 9,2 mm. Their weight varies depending on the metal: 529 grams for gold, the heaviest; 525 for money; 455 for bronze. The Eiffel Tower insert weighs 18 grams.
The color of the ribbon differs between the Olympic (blue) and Paralympic (red) Games. But all medals will have the name of the sports discipline concerned engraved on the edge. The COJO will also have the name Paris 2024 engraved in Braille on the copies intended for Paralympic medalists.
