Olympians at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be competing for medals with a minimalist design that depict two halves joined in unity, it was revealed in Venice Tuesday. The organizing committee unveiled the medals at a ceremony attended by politicians, Olympians and sport officials – an important milestone less than seven months before the Winter Games are set to open in Milan on February 6, 2026.
“The Milano Cortina 2026 medals are much more than just awards: they are the beating of the Italian heart, the essence of exciting design, the reflection of a dream taking shape. They encapsulate the identity of a country, its creativity, its passion for sport and beauty,” Milano Cortina 2026 president Giovanni Malagò said in a statement following the event.
Created and produced by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS) – the Italian mint – the medals “combine elegance, visual impact, and sustainability” and are “made by IPZS with an eco-friendly, non-toxic, and recyclable protective coating” using energy from 100 percent renewable sources, according to the organizing committee.
Each side of a medal has a split, opposite tilting surface with either the Olympic rings or Paralympic agitos in the center joining the two halves. It is said to symbolize the union of the two host cities – Milan and Cortina – that are named in the edition for the first time since Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 in Germany. It also represents the shared Olympic and Paralympic values as well as the two dimensions of a winning athlete’s journey that includes those who supported the success.
Officials say the medal is a metaphor that shows that competition doesn’t divide, but unites.
Medals first proposed for the Paris 2024 Games during bid-time under the banner “made for sharing” were to be awarded with two separable plates where one half could be given to someone deemed instrumental in the athlete’s success, but those plans were later scrapped.
The opposite side of the medal includes the Milano Cortina 2026 logo on one half and the event name on the other side. The edge is engraved with the named edition of the Olympic or Paralympic Games. For the Paralympics, the event name is accompanied with braille and the edge includes ridges that indicate the medal color.
The 80mm diameter of the medals is a bit smaller that those of recent Games, but the 10mm thickness puts them among the top in that category. At 506 grams for the gold medal, the weight is a bit smaller than recent Winter Games.
Below are technical specification of the medals provide by Milano Cortina 2026:
NUMBERS
195 events in which the following will be awarded:
245 gold, 245 silver and 245 bronze medals for the Olympic Games.
137 gold medals, 137 silver and 137 bronze for the Paralympic Games.
For a total of 1146 medals.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL MEDALS
Diameter: 80 mm.
Thickness: 10 mm.
COMPOSITION
Gold medal
Metal: 999 Silver + 999.9 Gold.
Weight: 500 grams + 6 g of gold.
Silver medal
Metal: 999 Silver.
Weight: 500 grams.
Bronze medal
Metal: Copper.
Weight: 420 grams.
