Montreal Native Wins Youth Olympic Games Medal Design Competition
When the first-ever Youth Olympic Games kick off this August in Singapore, Setsuko Fukuzawa will be able to say that she had a major influence on them.
The Montreal resident has won the International Olympic Committee’s global contest for designing the medals to be awarded at these groundbreaking Games. The theme of Fukuzawa’s design was “Yes, Youth Can” and her design will appear at every medal ceremony, in every medal that hangs from the necks of athletes who reach the podium.
The design incorporates a “Y” that symbolizes both Nike, the winged Greek goddess of victory, and the youthfulness of the Youth Olympic Games. It includes the Olympic rings and emblem, as well as a detail of the flame. Fukuzawa intended her design to be “simple, but powerful” and through the medals themselves, people can feel the energy and excitement of the Games.
The contest included medal designs from 34 countries. In the initial public vote, “Yes, Youth Can” received nearly 4,000 votes, launching it to the short list of 10 finalists. From there, an International Olympic Committee jury selected Fukuzawa’s design as the winner.
View her designs, including all the top-10 submissions, at www.medaldesigncompetition.com.
