Beautiful winner’s medal awarded to Cuban decathlonist Leonel Suárez at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. Bronze with inlaid jade, 70 mm, 163 gm, designed and produced by the Medal Design Group, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Elena Votsi. Created from ancient Chinese jade patterns, the medal consists of bronze and jade, which symbolize nobility and virtue. Jade has been regarded as a virtue since ancient times, and the embodiment of Chinese traditional values of ethics and honor. The medal front depicts the standing goddess of Victory against panoramic imagery of the Panathenaic Stadium, with text above reading: “XXIX Olympiad Beijing 2008”; and the reverse features the Beijing Games emblem surrounded by inlaid jade and the outer circle engraved with the sport, “Athletics, Men’s Decathlon.” The design inspiration of the medal hook derives from jade ‘huang,’ a ceremonial jade piece decorated with a double dragon pattern and ‘Pu,’ the reed mat pattern. Include its original red-and-orange ribbon, as well as its gorgeous red rosewood presentation cases with traditional Chinese brocade box. The men's decathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place between August 21 and 22, at the Beijing National Stadium, with Leonel Suárez taking the bronze with a point total of 8527, which represented a new national record for Cuba. He earned his second bronze Olympic medal four years later at the London 2012 Summer Games.
