Åland’s medals unveiled

With under three months to go before the NatWest Island Games in Ã…land, the organising committee have revealed the prized medals which over 2,000 competitors will be doing battle for.

The medals are different in that they are shaped like a drop of water, which the org­anisers say should make all athletes train a little bit harder in hoping to clinch one of them.

Games director Terese Flöjt said: “We wanted to come up with something out of the ordinary. Very early on in the process the organising com­mittee decided that the theme should be water. Water is the common denominator for all the participating islands and has a large symbolic value. It is the one element joining us as well as keeping us apart.”

There will be plenty of opportunity to see the medals as during the week of the games 194 ceremonies will take place at the various venues. With 10 minutes for each presentation from start to finish, that means 32 hours of medal ceremonies.

Swimming has the most medals with 42, followed by athletics and shooting with 39 and 30 respectively.