Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games medals unveiled

The medals feature a design based on the road and canal network in the West Midlands, organisers said

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games athletes medals have been unveiled.

The gold, silver and bronze medals all feature a design that symbolises the road and canal network in the West Midlands, organisers said.

They have been designed by three students from Birmingham School of Jewellery and made by a firm based in the city's Jewellery Quarter.

The medals also incorporate textured elements to make them more accessible for athletes with a visual impairment.

"We really thought about the athletes when designing the medals - the connection between athletes and the journey they go on to achieve their dream of standing on top of the podium," lead designer Amber Alys said.

Dozens of students at the school entered a competition run by organisers and were whittled down to a final trio, who were combined in a team to create the medals, ribbons and boxes.

Ms Alys, Francesca Wilcox and Catarina Rodrigues Caeiro had their design turned into a medal by the firm Toye, Kenning and Spencer.

Three students from Birmingham's School of Jewellery came up with the design of the medals, ribbons and their boxes

A total of 1,875 medals will be produced for the first, second and third placed athletes in the Games, organisers said.

"What [the designers] wanted to do is make something so that athletes who might have visual impairments could actually feel and touch [them]," project lead Raidene Carter said.

Seven-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft will be aiming to compete in her first Commonwealth Games when they begin on 28 July with eight para-sports included among the events.

"Now that I have seen how beautiful the medals are, I'm even more focused on winning one this summer," she said.