From Broken Pieces to Sporting Glory: The Story Behind the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games Medal

A medal is more than a piece of metal. For an athlete, it represents years of training, sacrifice, failure, comebacks and the moment when all those efforts finally come together.

At the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, the medal itself has a story to tell. Inspired by the Games slogan, ‘Imagine One Asia’, the medal tells a story of unity, diversity and achievement. It reflects how Asia may have developed into a place of different languages, cultures and traditions, but sport continues to bring people together.

The design takes this idea of coming together in a unique way.

A medal born from broken pieces

The medal was designed by Japanese designer Daisuke Shiba, who is the Representative Director of MERRY BEETLE Co., Ltd. and TOGU General Incorporated Association.

During the design process, Shiba repeatedly broke ceramic discs and studied the shapes created by the fragments. Rather than trying to create a perfectly controlled form, he looked for a shape that appeared naturally attractive.

The idea had a strong connection with an athlete’s journey.

Athletes do not reach the Asian Games podium without facing setbacks. Their journeys are filled with injuries, defeats, pressure, long hours of training and moments when their dreams can seem far away. Like the broken ceramic pieces, each of those experiences becomes part of the final achievement.

The broken fragments eventually come together to create one medal.

Three medals, three materials

The Aichi-Nagoya 2026 medals are 80 mm in diameter and 5 mm thick.

The gold medal weighs approximately 265 grams and is made of pure silver plated with at least 1 gram of gold. The silver medal weighs around 264 grams and is made from pure silver.

The bronze medal weighs approximately 222 grams and is made from red brass, containing 95% copper and 5% zinc.

While the medals differ in material, each shares the same overall design concept, keeping the focus on the idea of athletes coming together through sport.

A medal with a sustainability story

The medal also carries an environmental message.

A portion of the metal used for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 medals has been recovered from small electronic devices donated by participating municipalities as part of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Recycled Medal Project.

The project is an effort to promote awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals and encourage a more circular approach to resources.

So, the medal also follows the same idea as its design. Materials that were once part of something else are given a new purpose and become part of something more valuable.

The ribbon tells an Aichi story

The medal is not the only part of the award with meaning. The ribbon takes inspiration from the kakitsubata, or Japanese iris, which is the official flower of Aichi Prefecture. Its design also uses sweeping lines inspired by the flower’s leaves.

The shape is meant to represent the graceful strength of athletes while also connecting Aichi’s culture with the world.

Even the medal case has a story

The medal comes in an octagonal case, with the eight-sided shape appearing both inside and outside.

The design is linked to the character ‘八’, meaning eight in Japanese. The character was historically used in the emblem of the Owari Tokugawa family, who were the rulers of Aichi at the time. It is also part of the current emblem of Nagoya City.

The shape widens outwards, symbolising growth from the present towards the future.

The case itself is made from Aichi-grown Japanese cypress, or hinoki. That choice also connects with the region’s long tradition of the tea ceremony, where precious tea utensils and objects are traditionally kept in wooden boxes.

For an athlete, the case is designed to become a lasting place to preserve one of the most valuable objects of their sporting career.

A medal designed to last

The thought put into the Aichi-Nagoya medal also comes at an interesting time for major sporting events.

The medals from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games made headlines after some athletes reported that their medals had begun to tarnish.

The Paris medals were designed by French jewellery house Chaumet and featured a piece of iron taken from the Eiffel Tower during its renovation. However, several athletes later complained about the condition of their medals.

British diver Yasmin Harper, who won bronze in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard, said she noticed small areas of tarnishing. American skateboarder Nyjah Huston also publicly criticised the condition of his bronze medal, saying it was showing signs of discolouration and damage.

The French Mint told ATP that it had received 220 requests for medal replacements, with damaged medals being replaced and engraved to match the originals.

The Paris issue showed that a medal is expected to be more than symbolic. That makes the approach taken for Aichi-Nagoya 2026 more interesting. The organisers have paid attention not only to how the medal looks, but also to the materials, the production process, its sustainability message and even the case in which it will be preserved.

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