With one year to go before the start of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Organising Committee (TOCOG) has unveiled the design of the medals that will be awarded at the Games next summer.

The winning designs were selected after a nationwide competition open to both professional designers and design students. A specially assigned selection panel had the difficult task of whittling down more than 400 entries before settling on the ideas presented by Junichi Kawanishi, Director of the Japan Sign Design Association and the Osaka Design Society.

The intricate designs, which will adorn all 5,000 medals, reflect patterns of light in order to symbolise the energy of the athletes and those who support them. The designs also represent how athletes strive for victory on a daily basis, as well as the Olympic themes of diversity and friendship.

Sports fans across Japan have a particularly close connection to the medals thanks to the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project, a landmark recycling initiative which ensured that each one has been moulded entirely from metal extracted from recycled consumer electronics over the past two years.

Under the theme “Be better, together – for the planet and the people”, TOCOG intends to make these the most environmentally friendly and sustainable Games so far. The project attracted donations and support from 1,300 educational institutions and 2,100 electronics retail stores across Japan.