Winner's medal issued for the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics. Bronze, 78 mm, 122 gm, by Ingjerd Hanevold; manufactured by Th. Marthinsen of Tonsberg. The medal contains a polished circular piece of 600 million-year-old sparagmite that was collected from the Lillehammer Olympic Park during the construction of the Lysgardsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena. The front of the medal features the Olympic rings in bronze, with the bronze ice crystal design and the interior stone engraved, “Lillehammer ‘94” and “The XVII Olympic Winter Games”; the reverse retains the ice crystal design and includes the Lillehammer Games emblem with a large pictogram of a luge athlete, inscribed on the inset stone and rim: “Luge - Double Men.” The rim is stamped with the initials of the designer and mint, and the medal bears slight scuffing and lacks its ribbon.
According to designer Ingjerd Hanevold, she intended the medals to be ‘humorous, sober, and recognizable’ and stated that their design is 'Norwegian through and through.’ Her choice of sparagmite was in keeping with the guiding principles behind the Lillehammer Games as a means of presenting Norway’s genuine natural surroundings and increasing national environmental awareness. ‘The medals symbolize the very essence of Norway, the Norwegian mountain landscape. The stone also serves a symbolic function; it reminds us of how precious our earth and nature are, and how important it is that we protect them.’
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