| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
|
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Utahn Designs Olympic History
Sandra Yi
KSL-TV
With each medal that is awarded, a part of designer Brett Watts goes with it.
This Utah native not only helped create the artwork, but a piece of Olympic history.
On the medals stand,this is an athlete's greatest Olympic moment.
A moment Brent Watts and his team proudly share. They designed the victory medals, which symbolize the Olympic spirit.
"We actually get to share a part of their moment. It's actually quite wonderful," Brent Watts of Axiom Designed Communications says.
Watts submitted several drawings to the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and competed against 100 artists from around the world. The original designs evolved from a non-circular form, to an arrowhead, and one that included granite, gold, silver and bronze metals.
What you see around an athlete's neck is the final design.
"We wanted it to be in a different form, and from that we presented taking it and making it feel like a river rock, so it had something natural and part of the environment," Watts explains.
The medals are symbolic of the American West, fused with the Olympic theme 'Light the Fire Within'.
The front of the medal features a figure emerging from the fire. On the back, Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, holds an olive leaf.
"In ancient Olympics, when the athletes received their victory crowns, they received an olive wreath. So we wanted to keep in fitting with history," Watts says.
Watts, a native Utahn, will also be a part of history. He and his design team have created an Olympic legacy that will live on forever.
He says, "We feel very honored and it means a lot to us."
Watts and his team also designed a commemorative poster, the torch, the event tickets, even a participation keepsake for all the athletes and volunteers.
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February 23, 2002
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