MEDALS OF HONOUR
DESIGNER STRIKES GOLD
A PROUD Aboriginal Gold Coaster has already had an emotional Commonwealth Games medal moment – unveiling her chosen designs to athletes.
North Stradbroke Island artist Delvene CockatooCollins was selected earlier this year to design the gold, silver and bronze medals for the Gold Coast Games, now less than 150 days away.
The medals were unveiled at the weekend to admiration from athletes including Cameron McEvoy and Brenden Hall, champion hurdler Sally Pearson and Glasgow Games gold medal-winning diver Domonic Bedggood.
Ms Cockatoo-Collins said the Royal Australian Mint which created the medals in Canberra had maintained the integrity of her design and “captured it so much better than I imagined”.
She said the city’s beaches and coastline had informed it: “When you walk across the beach it changes automatically, you’re impacting as well and naturally those waves leaves those forms and they captured that.”
The mother of three and proud Nunukul, Ngugi and Gorenpul woman from the Quandamooka region said her mother cried at the official unveiling during the Games Charity Gala ball at The Star on Saturday.
“Being asked to provide some potential designs was overwhelming,” she said.
Bedggood said knowing the medals were designed locally gave him even more incentive to want to win one and hearing her talk about them left him with “goosebumps”.
“Hearing Delvene’s story resonates with me and my story – such as the years of hard work and putting yourself out there and setbacks,” Bedggood said.
“It’s the exact same thing – she’s been on the exact same journey as us. And then to produce something absolutely stunning ... I was getting goosebumps when she was talking about it.
“I’ve won medals in the past but I’ve never heard the backstory. I think after the Games if we can win one of these medals it will make it that much more special.”
Told two-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Diamond was selling his to pay legal debts, Bedggood said he would “sell my kidney before I sold one of these”.
Unlike Bedggood, Paralympic swimmer Hall was too superstitious to hold one but said they looked spectacular.
“I am a bit superstitious about touching one before you race for it,” Hall said.
About 1500 of the gold, silver and bronze medals are being minted for the Games.