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See the European Junior Championships medal designs
The winning medal design for the European Athletics Junior Championships 2011 in Tallinn symbolises the unstoppable force of young athletes.
A design contest was launched earlier this year among Estonian art and design students in search of an original medal design for the junior championships. Out of 14 designs submitted by 13 authors, the jury voted for a flowing design by Indrek Turi. Wavy and rectangular in shape, the design also features the full name of the event „21st European Athletics Junior Championships“, a reference to Tallinn 2011 and three stars, symbolically referring to the mascots Citi, Alti and Forti.
Indrek Turi, studying design graphics at Estonian Academy of Arts, happens to be a former decathlete himself – his achievements include a silver medal at 2003 European U23 Championships. Turi admits that he used his own personal experience and emotions of his career as an athlete when designing the medal. “I thought about what kind of a medal I would have liked to get myself. Majority of the medals I have won have been round but my plan was to give this one a rectangular shape and take it further from there. The shape of a wave seemed very suitable, as waves symbolise a sort of restlessness and uncontrollable force which I think characterizes young athletes very well. In the final result, the wavy shape symbolises youth and bravery and the three stars are the mascots Citi, Alti and Forti, which in its own stand for the citius, altius, fortius motto.”
The jury included European Athletics projects consultant Peter Stafford and competition consultant Ede Rutkovszky, Olympic winner Erki Nool, Estonian Athletic Association president Erich Teigamägi, manufacturer Sporrong Estonia manager Hendrik Karlson and artist of the mascots Helene Vettik. “The winning design combined originality and practicality in terms of the producing process. The jury also felt that the designer had well incorporated the existing symbols of the event – namely the three stars or mascots. We hope that the future medallists will like their medals, which will always remind them of their competition experience in Tallinn,” said Estonian Athletic Association president Erich Teigamägi.
The winning medal designs for European Junior Championships Tallinn 2011, by Indrek Turi
