Alumna Imogen Grant’s Olympic journey inspired Trinity’s Senior Carpenters Jon Squires and Adie Brown to craft a stunning replica medal to celebrate her achievement in the Lightweight Double Sculls.
Soon after Imogen’s race, Mr Squires climbed aboard a cherrypicker and hung the medal around statue of Henry VIII on Great Gate. A set of oars with blades sprayed gold are also on display. ‘What better way to honour Imogen’s gold medal win than by trying medal making ourselves?’ he said.
The carpenters designed the medal so it is easy for those passing by the College on Trinity Street to see around Henry’s statue – the real medals are of course smaller.
And while the Paris 2024 medals incorporate pieces of the Eiffel Tower, the carpenters used ordinary materials available from DIY stores: MDF, plywood and brass screws.
Creating the medal was both challenging and rewarding, said Mr Squires. ‘Compared to what we usually do, it was definitely something different, and anything different is fun.’ Although the Paris 2024 medals may look perfect, the fluting around the iron centrepiece is irregular, intentionally. Mr Squires said:
It’s more difficult than it sounds to make something look perfectly imperfect, if you see what I mean.
That task was made even trickier by the fact that MDF can be difficult to work with. ‘The material is very flimsy and crumbles easily,’ he said. ‘I spent more time keeping the medal from falling apart than actually replicating the design.’
But with the right machinery, plenty of imagination and attention to detail, Mr Squires and Mr Brown were happy to take on the challenge. And this particular job will go down in Trinity history as one of the more unusual. Mr Squires said:
I’ve been at Trinity for about 25 years now and it’s particularly moments like these that make me proud to be part of the College community.
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