Olympic Memories

The medal design for Sydney's winning athletes does not depict a classic Greek stadium, but rather the Coliseum in Rome. While Olympic officials deny that the stadium shown is the Coliseum, Wojciech Pietranik, who designed the medals, admits the design is indeed based on the Coliseum. He said he really wanted to depict “Nike, the Goddess of Victory, visiting Sydney,” as represented by the city's famous Opera House, but the International Olympic Committee vetoed that idea and ordered the design reflect the 1928 medal by Italian sculptor Guiseppe Cassioli, which was also based on the Coliseum. (Reuters) ...Of course the IOC rejected Nike — she was depicted as a Swoosh.