Local Olympian Sebastian Coe’s medallion made by the Royal Mint went on sale today aiming to raise funds in support of British athletes at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.
The medallion, one of 12 released to commemorate some of Britain’s greatest Olympians and Paralympians, depicts Lord Coe’s winning moment from Moscow in 1980 when he won gold in the 1,500m, the same Games in which he also claimed silver in the 800m.
The collection includes: Sir Steve Redgrave CBE, Dame Kelly Holmes CBE, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Daley Thompson CBE, Denise Lewis OBE, James Cracknell OBE, Sir Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington OBE, Ben Ainslie CBE, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Lee Pearson CBE.
The medallions, which showcase 12 Great British Olympic and Paralympic winning moments from past Games, can be purchased for £2 each from BP’s forecourts across the country. Also available from BP forecourts are limited edition medallion collection folders which can be kept as a keepsake for years to come.
Sebastian Coe KBE comments: “Having my very own medallion that reminds me of such a memorable moment of my career is a great honour. It is great to be involved in a project that will help support our athletes competing at the London 2012 Games and beyond. “
Andy Hunt, Chef de Mission Team GB London 2012 commented: “We are hugely proud of our Olympic and Paralympic heritage and what better way to celebrate our legends than to produce a medallion collection to honour them. We hope that everyone will seize this opportunity to start collecting the medallions and in doing so show their support for British athletes at London 2012 and beyond.”
Craig Hunter, Chef de Mission of ParalympicsGB, says: “Collecting the medallions is a fantastic way for the public to get behind our athletes and be part of British sporting history this summer. Sales of the Collection will raise valuable funds for Team GB and ParalympicsGB, supporting the athletes competing in London and beyond.”
All profits from the sale of the Our Greatest Team Legends Collection will directly support Team GB and ParalympicsGB to help aspiring athletes deliver their best performance at London 2012 and beyond.
A new medallion is released each Wednesday to build the complete Our Greatest Team Legends Collection – one of only two official pieces of memorabilia created to support Team GB and ParalympicsGB. Every collector can play their part in supporting Our Greatest Team; for children, the collection will provide an education on our greatest Olympic and Paralympic legends and for adults a bit of nostalgia revisiting the great moments in Games history.
The next medallion to be released will be Dame Kelly Homes CBE in a week’s time, on 23rd May 2012 with Sir Matthew Pinsent following on 30th May.
For more information about the Our Greatest Team Legends Collection and how you can start collecting the limited edition medallions, visit www.bp.com/medallions