A happy hand-over for prizes of lifetime

By Tini Tran  |   2008-7-4  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games Jiang Xiaoyu (right) laughs as he goes to kneel with BHP Billiton China President Clinton Dines in front of the Olympic medals at an official hand-over ceremony in Beijing yesterday, 36 days before the start of the Games. More in photo gallery

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THE gold, silver and bronze medals that will hang around the necks of winning athletes at next month's Olympics were formally handed over yesterday to the organizers of the Beijing Games.

The 3,000 medals made for the Olympics and a similar number for the Paralympics were delivered by BHP Billiton, an Olympic sponsor and the world's biggest mining company, at an hour-long ceremony near Tian'anmen Square in Beijing.

"We're fully prepared for the Beijing Games. All the preparations are now in place," said Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

BHP Billiton China President Clinton Dines said the company decided to become a major Beijing Olympic sponsor because it wanted to show its commitment to the host nation.

"China is very important to us. It's 20 percent of our global business," he said. "This is a big moment for China as a nation."

A total of 1,000 medals for each category was made - enough for all the winning athletes, including those in group sports, to receive a medal.

The Melbourne-based company said the metals were shipped from its mines in Chile and Australia - 13 kilograms of gold, 1,240 kilograms of silver, and 6,930 kilograms of copper. The medals, which incorporate jade from Qinghai Province, were made in China.

Another 3,000 medals for the Paralympics, which will be held in September, were also turned over to Beijing's Olympics Organizing Committee.

In addition, a total of 51,000 commemorative medals were made.

Olympian Gao Min, who won gold in diving at the 1988 and 1992 games, said the new medals were more beautiful than previous ones.

"It is the dream of all athletes to win a medal at the Games," she said. "My Olympic medals represent the biggest honor of my lifetime and I cherish them."

It was the first time that the medals, with the jade inlay, were designed in a public competition.