tokyo 2020 unveils olympic medals made from recycled phone metals

following a competition to design the new olympic medal – and a call to collect used electronic devices – tokyo 2020 presents the winning design by junichi kawanishi that has been manufactured from recycled metals. for the past two years, the organizing committee for the tokyo 2020 olympics and paralympics has collected old gadgets from across japan to create the unveiled medal that is 100% sustainable and reflects the environmental aspirations of the global event.

gold medal obverse

all images courtesy of tokyo 2020

the design itself of the gold, silver and bronze medals has been conceived to appear as ‘rough stones that have been polished’. selected from over 400 entries, the pieces envisioned by junichi kawanishi reflect themes of glory and the notion that ‘athletes have to strive for victory on a daily basis’. considering the international spirit of the games, the medals also intend to embody diversity and the idea of the world coming together as one for the epic sporting event.

gold medal reverse

measuring 85mm in diameter, the front of the medal features ‘nike’ – the greek goddess of victory standing proudly in front of the panathinaikos stadium in athens, in reference to the greek history of the games. on the reverse, the medal is engraved with ‘tokyo 2020’ and of course, the five olympic rings, which have become symbolic of the international event, feature on both sides and the medal ribbon.

silver medal obverse

the 5,000 gold, silver and bronze medals have all been manufactured using 100% of the metals collected from used electronic devices. weighing 556g, 550g and 450g respectively, the initiative that has made tokyo 2020’s medals intends to promote a more sustainable society while celebrating the great sporting achievements of the 2020 olympics.   

silver medal reverse

bronze medal obverse

bronze medal reverse

design of the victory medal ribbon

medal case design

project info:

project name: ‘tokyo 2020 olympic medals‘

design: junichi kawanishi