A new milestone was set on Thursday, August 17th on the road to the Santiago 2023 Games. On this occasion, all eyes were on the Minera Centinella mine, located outside the city of Calama, the place chosen to formally present the medals for this competition: the trophy to be taken by athletes and Para athletes who stand on the podium.
The event was attended by several authorities, including Jaime Pizarro, Minister of Sport; Iván Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta Minerals; Neven Ilic, President of Panam Sports; Ricardo Díaz, Governor of the Antofagasta region, and Harold Mayne-Nicholls, Chief Executive Officer of Santiago 2023.
On the occasion, the Senior Executive of Antofagasta Minerals welcomed all those present, highlighting the composition of the awards that the best of the continent will receive at the Games, about which he indicated that “when the idea of being able to participate emerged, we thought about how we could contribute. By supplying the medals, we also ensure that they have copper, a product that is so important for Chile, its history and its development.”
Jaime Pizarro, the head of the Ministry of Sport, expressed his satisfaction at being able to show the world the medals, pointing out that "symbolically, they reflect the fulfillment of objectives, achieving a very good result and even in some cases breaking a record. It's also very important that they reflect our identity, what Chile is.”
Gold medal. (Picture: AMSA).
COPPER, A KEY PLAYER ON THE GAMES PODIUM
Chile is the largest copper producer in the world. The large presence of this mineral under our feet makes us a reference in the mining world. Also, taking advantage of the virtues of the territory, the precious red metal played a key role in the manufacture of the medals.
The Toronto 2015 Games are the only Pan American precedent in which this material was used in the design and production of the medals; however, in that multisport event, only the bronze medals were made of copper.
This makes Santiago 2023 the first Pan American and Parapan American Games to use copper as the base material for the production of the awards that will hang around the necks of all athletes and Para athletes who reach the podium, counting gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Thus, there will be more than 5,000 medals that, thanks to the collaboration between the Organizing Committee and Antofagasta Minerals, will be produced and awarded at the Games, which will take place between next October and November.
“There will be 7,000 athletes at the Pan American Games and another 2,000 at the Parapan American Games who will dream of hanging these medals on their chests. We're working so that all these athletes will enjoy the Games, and those who achieve the results will be able to take this tremendous souvenir home with them,” commented Harold Mayne-Nicholls, Chief Executive Officer of the Santiago 2023 Corporation.
Silver medal. (Picture: AMSA).
Bronze medal. (Picture: AMSA).
COMMUNICATIONS SANTIAGO 2023
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