| The Medals 1972
The IOC Statutes describe the prizes awarded.
"A gold medal and certificate will be awarded
as first prize, a silver medal and certificate as second prize and a bronze
medal and certificate as third prize. The medals must carry the name of
the event for which they are awarded. They must be fastened to a chain
or ribbon so that they can be hung on the winners. For fourth, fifth and
sixth prizes only certificates and no medals will be awarded. In the event
of ties, all receive a medal and certificate. The medals must have a diameter
of at least 60 mm. and must be 3 mm. thick. The medals for first and second
place must be of silver with a minimum purity of 925/000 and the first
place medals must be plated with at least six grams of gold."
With respect to the size and weight of the
medals, the IOC only specified minimum requirements. The OC exceeded the
minimal diameter by 6 mm. and the thickness by 2 mm. The gold medal
weighed 175 g., the silver one 169 g., and the bronze one 140 g.
After the victorys ceremony:
Mark Spitz, Jerry Heidenreich, David Edgar
and John Murphy
The OC needed 364 gold medals, 364 silver
medals and 381 bronze medals, totaling 1,109 medals. In addition, it needed
sufficient reserve medals for the unforeseeable event of multiple winners
in the first three places. Three firms donated the material. The Bavarian
Mint coined the medals gratis. Since 1928 the medals carried the same motif.
In 1972 the goddess of victory was to grace the front of the medals together
with the inscription "XX. Olympiade München 1972". Several artists
submitted designs in a selective internal competition. The OC chose the
design by Gerhard Marcks, one of the last surviving masters of Bauhaus.
He chose Castor and Pollux, the patrons of competitive sports and friendship,
as his motif and depicted them as naked youths.
For the first time at Olympic Games chains
replaced the usual ribbon which too easily became wrinkled and soiled.
The chains were 90 cm. long, the links were made of 1.5 mm. thick brass
material, and passed through a ring screwed onto the medal. According to
the color of the medal, they were either bronze, silver or gold plated.
The IOC approved the intended appearance of the medals in February, 1972
in Sapporo.
 
In addition the IOC agreed that the winner's
full name and nationality should be engraved in the free space on the back
of the medal. Within two years, a specialized company solved the technical
problems whereby the engraving could be done in the short time between
the announcement of the final results and the beginning of the victors'
celebration. The medals were engraved in mobile workshops, that is, in
five large buses, each equipped with three engraving machines with the
usual technical facilities and radio. Their work was regulated minutely.
Parking places next to the contest sites were reserved for them and equipped
with electrical outlets supplying 5 kW.
  Producing the medals was complicated. The
donor firms supplied the metal. The entire quantity of silver was formed
into blanks in Switzerland. Later it was stamped in the main mint in Munich.
The 364 silver medals were sent back to Switzerland for gold plating. The
730 brass chains, which were manufactured in the Federal Republic of Germany
and had to be either gold or silver plated, were also sent to Switzerland.
The OC had the names of the various sports and events engraved on all the
medals in Munich.
The winners received gold, silver or bronze
lapel pins in addition to the medals. The IOC had not officially asked
for them but it had become usual since the last Olympic Games. They were
square and decorated with the Olympic emblem.
(Source document: Official
Report 1972, Vol. I., page 86) |
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