David Klinger writes:

Designed especially for each Games, the medals are what every athlete strives to win.

The medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games will be awarded during a total of 302 Victory Ceremonies, taking places at venues across the UK.

The medals have been designed by David Watkins, an established artist in the field of decorative art, and are in production at the Royal Mint headquarters in Llantrisant, South Wales.

The story behind the medal
The Olympic medals' circular form is a metaphor for the world. The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery at the Summer Games - the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, stepping out of the depiction of the Parthenon to arrive in the Host City.

The design for the reverse features five symbolic elements:

How the designs were chosen
When creating the brief, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) Victory Ceremonies team worked closely with the British Museum's Keeper of Coins and Medals, Philip Attwood, to look at the symbolic history of medals in Europe in the last century.

An independent panel of Sir John Sorrel (chair), Sir Mark Jones, Catherine Johnson, Ade Adepitan (deputy chair), Iwona Blazwick OBE, Niccy Hallifax and Martin Green was set up to look at the designs submitted by over 100 artists. The LOCOG Athletes' Committee, chaired by Jonathan Edwards, and the British Olympic Association (BOA) were also involved throughout the process.

The medals can be seen at the British Museum throughout the Games.

To read the complete article, see:www.london2012.com/medals/about/