A winning medal design
Published 17 November 2011
Winning athletes at the 2012 Paralymic Games will wear medals designed by University of Brighton graduate, Lin Cheung.
The 11-times British Paralympic gold medal winner Tanni Grey-Thompson and Ade Adepitan, British wheelchair basketball player, attended the launch of the winning design at the British Museum.
Ade Adepitan, Lin Cheung and Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Dame Tanni said: "Having competed at five sets of Games, the medal was the most important thing. It's what people want to touch afterwards". She praised Lin's design, adding: "To have something that looks so beautiful is amazing. You want to win that medal-winning is the most amazing experience. Records come and go but noone can take that medal from you".
Lin graduated in 1994 with a 3D Materials Practice BA(Hons) and was one of 100 designers invited by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to submit their ideas for the new medals.
The Paralympic medals designed by Lin Cheung.
The design is based on the wings of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, and represents "Spirit in motion, forward flight, power and lightness". Lin said she was inspired by "the endurance, focus and achievement of elite Paralympic athletes". The back of the medal depicts the heart of victory, showing the area "close to the heart of the goddess", which was chosen to reflect "inclusion and togetherness".
Lin, who is now senior lecturer in jewellery design at Central Saint Martins, explained: "It was important that the medal has layers of meaning", adding that her design was taken from a cast of a sculpture of the goddess Nike at the British Museum.
The independent judging panel chose Lin’s design from a six-strong shortlist because her design "held a narrative that befitted the athletes' achievements".
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