The Paralympic Games are set to continue a summer of sporting excellence.
Thousand of athletes from all over the world have arrived in Tokyo to compete in this year’s Paralympics, which were delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Though it celebrates multiple disciplines of sport like the Olympics, this tournament has some significantly different traditions and practices, particularly when it comes to the medals the athletes receive.
For blind athletes taking part in the Games, how are they able to tell which they have been awarded?
How do blind Paralympians tell which medal they’ve received?
The medals given at the Paralympic Games are designed to be texturally distinctive from one another and are also engraved with braille.
In Rio 2016, the gold, silver and bronze medals had a rattle-like element, in order for Paralympians with visual impairments to be able to hear what medal they were holding.
The bronze medals were fitted with 16 steel balls, making the softest rattle sound, the silver medals had 20, and the gold medals had 28 balls – making the loudest noise.
However, the 2020 design does not feature this unique sound element, but will still feature braille in line with the regulations of the International Paralympic Committee.
The braille on the medals for this year’s Games reads ‘Tokyo 2020’ on the face of all the medals.
The medal design features a traditional Japanese fan motif, which is described by the official website as depicting the Paralympic Games as ‘the source of a fresh new wind blowing through the world as well as a shared experience connecting diverse hearts and minds.’
The leaves on the fan design symbolise Japan’s natural environment in the form of rocks, flowers, trees, leaves, and water. These are applied with a variety of techniques, producing a textured surface to each medal.
Sakiko Matsumoto, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Medal Designer, said: ‘I am very grateful that I could take part in these historic Games as a designer.
‘I wanted to keep the athletes front and centre as I conceived this design. I hope these medals bring athletes and the people around them closer together and stirs a fresh new breeze in their hearts.’
What is distinctive about the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medlas?
Even if they don’t rattle this year, there is a new unique element to the medals of the 2020 Games.
A series of circular indentations on the side of the medals (one for gold, two for silver, three for bronze) have been added, which is a first for Paralympic medals, offering a new means of identifying the medals by touch for visually impaired athletes.
How many Paralympians are taking part?
A total of 4,400 athletes are expected to take part in this year’s Games – compared to just 400 participants in 1960, the year of the first tournament.
Over two weeks, they compete in 540 events for 22 sports, meaning viewers won’t lack content to watch!
MORE : Team GB Paralympics legend David Weir: ‘I feel a lot calmer and less angry at 42’
MORE : Athlete ‘not disabled enough’ for Paralympics is considering amputating a leg
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below
0 Commentaires