The medals that will be awarded at the London 2012 Paralympic Games were handed over to LOCOG yesterday for secure storage in the vaults at the Tower of London during the Games.

The gold, silver and bronze medals which will be awarded to the athletes at Games-times are now securely locked away in the famous vaults at the Tower of London and will remain there until they are needed for the Victory Ceremonies. In total, 4,700 medals have been produced and will be awarded in 805 Victory Ceremonies that will take place in over 30 London 2012 venues across the UK during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe accepted the medals on behalf of the city of London at a ceremonial event that included trumpeters of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Collingwood and the Tower’s famous Yeoman Warders.

“For an athlete, winning an Olympic or Paralympic medal represents the conclusion of thousands of hours of training and reaching the highest level in sport. The Victory Ceremonies then provide the moment they can truly celebrate their success. It’s great that the London 2012 medals will be kept safe and secure at the Tower of London until then,” Coe said.

Rio Tinto has provided eight tonnes of gold, silver and copper from its Kennecott Utah Copper mine in Salt Lake City, USA and the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia to make the medals, which were produced by the Royal Mint in South Wales.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “For centuries the Tower of London has protected some of this country's greatest treasures so there can be no better sanctuary for the 2012 medals - the most precious possession any athlete could hope to possess - than at this world famous iconic landmark.”

Australian shooters Natalie Smith and Libby Kosmala will have the chance to win the first Paralympic medal awarded at the Games on 30 August in the R2 10m air rifle standing event.

By LOCOG & APC Media
Posted 4/7/2012