CONVERGENCE JULY - AUGUST 2016

Special Feature
THE OLYMPIC TORCH
MEDALS
Innovation and Brazilian flavour form the essence of the torch.
The upper part of the torch is made of several segments, which
open and expand vertically when the flame is passed from one
torch to the next. These segments, with their floating effect,
represent the athletes’ effort. When they open, they reveal
elements representing diversity, energy and the country’s
natural landscape with, from top to bottom and in the colours
of the Brazilian flag:
• The sky and its golden sun
• The mountains and their green curves
• The blue sea and its fluid ripples
• The ground, with a pattern like that of the famous Copacabana
promenade mosaics
In Brazil, the Relay route passes through the five regions
of the country.
The general route of the Relay is as follows:
→→From 21 to 27 April in Greece, starting
with the traditional flame-lighting
ceremony in Olympia and ending at
the Panathenaic Stadium with a
ceremony to hand the flame over
to the Organising Committee for
the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
→→Until 2 May: The visit of the flame in
Geneva and at The Olympic Museum
in Lausanne, Switzerland.
→→3 May: The arrival of the flame in Brasilia
and start of the Brazilian section of the Relay.
→→5 August: The lighting of the cauldron during
the Opening Ceremony of the Games at the Maracana
Stadium in Rio.
DID YOU KNOW?
To draw the world’s
attention to the plight
of refugees, the Greek
National Olympic Committee
has planned for the Torch
Relay to pass through the
Eleonas camp for refugees
and migrants in Athens.
Rio 2016 President, Carlos Nuzman holding the Olympic Torch in front of the Olympic Museum
at Lausanne, Switzerland on 29 April 2016
• This time around, the medals
feature images of Greek goddess
of victory, Nike, the Panathenaic
Stadium and the Acropolis
in Athens.
• The gold, silver and bronze medals
each weigh 500g.
• Medals made from gold were
extracted without the use of
mercury and was produced
according to strict criteria from
the initial mining till the product's
end design.
• Medals made from silver and
bronze were produced using 30%
recycled materials.
• Half of the plastic in the ribbons
which will be used to hang the
medals around athletes’ necks
comes from recycled plastic bottles.
• A total of 2,488 medals have been
produced: 812 gold, 812 silver and
864 bronze.
MALAYSIA
AT THE OLYMPICS
• As it stands, Malaysia has qualified
23 athletes for the Games.
• This includes flag bearer and
national badminton icon Lee
Chong Wei, a silver medalist in the
2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
• Other athletes who have made the
cut so far are Khairul Anuar
Mohamad (archery); Pandelela
Rinong, Wendy Ng Yan Yee,
Cheong Jun Hoong, Nur Dhabitah
Sabri and Ooi Tze Liang (diving);
Azizulhasni Awang and Fatehah
Mustapa (track cycling); Welson
Sim (swimming); Johnathan
Wong Guangjie (shooting); and
Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy and
Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif (sailing).
• At the London Olympics in 2012,
Malaysia had 29 athletes from nine
sports in the fray.
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