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United States speedskater Chad Hedrick peers through his gold doughnut, er, medal following the Feb. 12 medal ceremony for the men's 5,000 meters at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. |
LL THAT WORK to win an Olympic medal, and what does a hero of the 2006 Winter Games get?
A gold, silver or bronze washer on a string.
Since when do Olympic medals have holes in the middle? Has Krispy Kreme taken over the medal-minting franchise?
Getting to the bottom of this disturbing development required several minutes' worth of online research, and this is what we learned via the official Web site of the Turin, Italy, games (torino2006.org).
The design of the 2006 Olympic medal was unveiled at the end of November with great fanfare. It's said to be a uniquely Italian shape, evoking the piazza, a public gathering place.
It's also designed to echo the shape of the Olympic rings.
Beyond that, each medal has shiny bits and buffed bits, the 2006 Torino symbol (which we think looks sort of like a melted Hershey's Kiss) and the name and symbols of the appropriate sport.
Much is made of the fact that the ribbon is tied on through the hole in the middle, instead of sewn on to the top as with past medals. This is supposed to be a good thing, and it, too, symbolizes something. We couldn't figure out what.
We note this revealing quote from the official press release:
"The concept was studied by a workgroup that included Ottaviani International, a Torino 2006 Sponsor and Official Supplier, and the TOROC graphic team, headed for the occasion by Dario Quatrini, who signed the design."
Aha! It was designed by committee. Looks like it.
To reach LAURA MOYER:
Email: lmoyer@freelancestar.com
