2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field Medals Unveiled
The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field medals honor the past and celebrate the future of the incredible Hayward Field at the University of Oregon with wood inlays made from salvaged historic Hayward Field materials. Photo by Jake Willard
By Jessi Gabriel
TrackTown USA today revealed the competition medals for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field.
The medals honor the past and celebrate the future of the incredible Hayward Field at the University of Oregon with wood inlays made from salvaged historic Hayward Field materials and an homage to the tower forming the basis of the TrackTown20 logo at the heart of the design.
The road to these Olympic Trials has not been an easy one. We are immensely proud to have created medals that stand up to the journey the athletes have made to get to the starting line and fight for their spots on Team USA. We knew we needed medals that truly reflected the accomplishment of earning an Olympic berth in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Otto Horiuchi
Photo by Otto Horiuchi
The wood components on the gold, silver, and bronze medals are made from the stairs of the Bowerman Building, on which thousands of athletes throughout the years left their spike marks as they prepared for practice and competition. The wood inlay features a landscape of trees and hills that speaks to the natural beauty of Eugene, Springfield, and Oregon.
The TrackTown20 logo itself showcases the tower of the reimagined stadium and is reminiscent of the Olympic torch. Simple and powerful, the mark is suggestive of both the numbers ‘0’ and ‘1’ – for an event that was originally planned for 2020 but is instead taking place in 2021. The ribbon of the medal is tied through the negative space of the logo, bringing dimensionality into the traditional round form of the medals.
The medals for 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-place competitors don’t feature the salvaged wood but were instead constructed with a modern and unexpected all-black finish.
Photo by Otto Horiuchi
The medals were designed and crafted with support from Eugene-based companies AHM Brands and MAC Group.
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials is a collaboration between the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and USA Track & Field (USATF). TrackTown USA serves as the local organizing committee for the event, which will take place June 18–27, 2021 at Hayward Field. The event will be presented across NBC platforms.