Winning an Olympic gold medal is a crowning achievement for an athlete, so it’s only fitting that the physical medal represents the significance. Every Olympic Games boasts a unique medal design. Still, Paris 2024 is particularly notable because winning athletes will take home a piece of the Eiffel Tower, an iconic landmark of the host city. The medals awarded at this year’s Summer Games are embellished with pieces of the Eiffel Tower.

An 18-gram hexagonal fragment of iron taken from the iconic Paris landmark, which was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, is embedded in each gold, silver and bronze medal. When the Eiffel Tower underwent renovations in the 20th century, they preserved and stored pieces of the original iron. Those chunks make up the hexagon figure in the middle of the Olympic gold medal, connecting the athletes and the audience to a rich historical past. The Eiffel Tower had a staring role in the Paris 2024 opening ceremony. From beaming lights and the Olympic rings to Celine Dion’s comeback performance, “La Tour Eiffel” showcased its grandeur to the world. And now, it will be part of the athletes’ medal collections.