It was arguably the most coveted design contract in the country for 64 years – and today Wolverhampton’s own David Watkins was taking a bow after crossing the line first to take gold, silver and bronze.

The 71-year-old, born and bred in the city, has designed the medals which the world’s top athletes will be fighting to get their hands on at next year’s London Games, the first Olympics to be staged in Britain since 1948.

Designer Mr Watkins has produced work for renowned collections at prestigious museums throughout the world including the Victoria & Albert in London, Metropolitan in New York and National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.

Front of the silver and bronze medals and the back of the gold

His design has been hailed “a work of art” by previous Olympians while the president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, gave the medals his seal of approval, declaring them a “fitting reward”.

Mr Watkins chose to depict the image of Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory, stepping out of Greek temple The Parthenon to arrive in the host city on the front of the medal.

On the rear, the Olympic logo is centred with an impression of the Thames flowing through the emblem from left to right and diagonal lines cutting through in every direction.

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