The medals for the Gavle 2019 European Athletics U23 Championships are now ready and awaiting their owners.
A unique medal clearly reflects the history of the host city in its depiction of the globally recognisable Gavle Goat and elements of the Gunder Hagg Stadium in a compressed format.
The Gavle Goat is a clear and obvious symbol of Gavle and at the same time, it was also important to reflect Gavle’s love of sport and of athletics in particular. 'Designing the medals has been a long and exciting process,' explained Sebastian Österman, Art Director of the Gavle Municipality.
Österman developed the design together with his colleague Erik Forsberg, who is a Tourism Officer and a qualified industrial designer. 'Packing such a huge chunk of Gavle’s history into such a compressed format has been a challenge,' added Österman.
Forsberg said: 'We looked back over our history and recognised quickly that Gunder Hagg was a huge name within Swedish athletics. The very place where the U23 Championships will take place is none other than the Gunder Hagg Stadium.
'So, with elements from the Gunder Hagg Stadium together with the Gavle Goat, we were able to produce a design that is unique, and which perfectly symbolises Gavle.'
Hagg was the first athlete to break the 14 minute-barrier for 5000m with 13:58.4. The Gavlehov Stadium was renamed in his honour in 2007.