Let the Games Begin!!

Once again, it is time for the summer Olympics. I'm excited. Who isn't?? The swimming, the gymnastics, the ping pong . . . ok, I'm kidding about that last one (but it IS an Olympic sport!). It's so neat to watch as the world comes together peacefully to compete -- wouldn't it be wonderful if we could live like that all the time?

We've been touched a couple of times by the Olympics. I was at the announcement party when it was announced that Salt Lake City would host the 2002 Winter Olympics -- and of course, we lived here during that time, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be able to attend some of the events. This year, we were touched by them in an out-of-the-ordinary way. My husband works for, and has worked for, Kennecott Utah Copper since we moved here in 1995. This year, Rio Tinto, a world leader in finding, mining and processing the earth's mineral resources that is based in London and the parent company of Kennecott, is the exclusive provider of metal for the 2012 Olympics, with most of the metal coming from Kennecott. You can read more about their process if you click on the link above.

My sweet hubby holding the 2012 Olympic medals provided by Rio Tinto.

Here are a few interesting Olympic Medal Facts you might not know: 

• This is the largest medal (size and weight) in the history of the summer games. 
• The IOC requires a minimum of 6 grams of gold per medal. 
• The front of the 2012 Olympic medal features Nike, the goddess of sport/victory; the back of the medal represents an amphitheater crossed by the River Thames, as well as the 2012 Olympic logo.
• The front of the 2012 Paralympic medal depicts the wings of Nike and the depicts the area close to her heart and represents the heart of a champion. 
• The last pure gold medals were awarded in 1912.
• It wasn't until the St. Louis Olympics in 1904 that the gold medal was introduced as the prize for first place.  
• The gold medal is made up of 92.5% silver, 1.34% gold, and the remainder copper.
• The silver medal is 92.5% silver and the remainer copper.
• The bronze medal is 97.0% copper, 2.5% zinc, and 0.5% tin.  
• The Olympic medals are designed especially for each individual Olympic games by the host city's organizing committee.  
• The ore for the 2012 medals was mined on opposite sides of the world -- the Kennecott Mine in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia.  The metal's journey, from extraction to production, took a month and a half and involved a team of over 2,000.  

Photo of the front side of the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, for the Olympics (top) and the Paralympics (bottom).

We are proud to be part of the bigger picture, and proud that Rio Tinto was given this opportunity.  We are also proud of all the athletes who have trained so hard to participate in these 2012 Olympic games.  So, we'll see you there, I suppose, in front of the television these next two weeks, as we watch with awe and admiration these athletes who have given so much to be the best at what they do.  Let the Games begin!  Until next time,