Tokyo25
The Local Organising Committee of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (LOC) interviewed junior athletes at Josai Junior and Senior High School (Toshima City, Tokyo) and Toho Junior and Senior High School (Kunitachi City, Tokyo) to explore ideas for the design of medals to be awarded at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (WCH Tokyo 25).
The two Tokyo schools were selected from among the alma maters of young world-class athletes, the former being the alma mater of sprinters Abdul Hakim Sanibrown and YukiJoseph Nakajima and the latter that of sprinter Ken Toyoda. All three represented Japan at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with Toyoda competing in the 400m men’s hurdles. The interview session was held at Josai Junior and Senior High School on 22 July 2024.
Ryo Nakagawa, the brand director who designed the WCH Tokyo 25 logo, is also designing the medals for the competition. He talked to the students about the medals awarded at previous international competitions hosted by World Athletics as well as the Japan Championships, Olympic Games and other sporting events, explaining their respective concepts and the aspirations embodied in them. The latest medal for the Japan Championships in Athletics, for example, featured a lion, the king of the jungle, on the front and Mt. Fuji rising above a sea of clouds on the reverse. The design aimed to symbolise the strength, dignity and style of the winners, as well as their warmth, along with the hope that they would strive for even higher levels of achievement.
Sharing his own thoughts with the high school students, Mr. Nakagawa said: “All medals, no matter their colour, make the recipients happy. They are also a means of conveying gratitude to their families, coaches, staff, and teammates.”
He then asked the students to write down what they were looking forward to with regard to WCH Tokyo 25, the aspirations they would like to embody in the medals, and what kind of medal would make them happy if they were to receive one. Along with their ideas, the junior athletes put down their messages for participating athletes.
“I was impressed to learn that each medal was designed to embody distinctive ideas,” said Josai sprinter Tenshin Yamazaki. “I still can’t quite believe that the World Athletics Championships will be hosted on our home soil.” He added that he “looks forward to having the world’s top-tier athletes gather in Tokyo” and said that he wrote his message hoping that “the athletes can relax and do their best without feeling pressured.”
“I learnt that medals were designed to convey deep meaning, such as the ideal qualities expected of athletes, and messages for those who supported them,” said Josai sprinter Kohana Adia Ross. “Seeing Joseph and Sanibrown clinch gold medals at the Japan Championships really made me want to follow in their footsteps.” She also gleefully noted that the Japan National Stadium, the main venue of WCH Tokyo 25, was only “a bike ride away, so I look forward to coming within close distance of world-class athletes, including my idol, Sha'Carri Richardson.”
With regard to her ideas for medal design and her own message, Kohana said: “I wrote ‘Conquer,’ by which I meant ‘conquering’ one’s own record, rather than ‘conquering’ others. I hope to see top athletes set fresh new records for their own performance and also break world records.”
Both Tenshin and Kohana have secured their spots in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at the Fukuoka Inter High competition starting 28 July 2024.
“I’m in top form,” Tenshin said. “My aim is to secure a high placing.”
“I hope this competition will give me a boost for the future,” said Kohana.
“We held this interview session to somehow incorporate the ideas of young students, who represent our future, into the medal design,” explained a smiling Mr. Nakagawa. “Only winners receive medals, but I’m glad to have been able to share the thinking and aspirations of those who produce them.”
He concluded by talking about his own commitment to the task at hand. “I hope to produce a medal design that will ingrain the victory and the entire experience in the athlete’s mind and evoke memories of their time in Tokyo each time they look at it,” he said. “Including for the medal case, I’m thinking about how to use a quintessential Japanese design to depict some kind of story and make a connection.”
Article courtesy of Getsuriku Online, RIKUJYO-KYOGI SHA Co., Ltd.
English translation based on the original Japanese article.
