olympic medals

Have you been watching the Torino olympics? I've been sort of watching. I like the summer olympics more. Anyway, what I wanted to know is about the medals. Is this the first time that the medals look like this? I saw one on tv and I thought the athlete had a cd or a dvd hanging around his neck. They're kind of weird. I can't find a picture. Here is a picture of the ones that I'm used to seeing.




Oh! I just found a picture. These are the ones they're giving in Torino.



So, does anyone know anything about this? Why are they like this? Was it some designer or does it have some sort of meaning? I'm just curious but I haven't heard anything about it.

I wonder if the summer games will have the same kind of medal. Do they change by location? On a totally seperate note, the one sporting event that I am REALLY looking forward to is the soccer World Cup. YAY! Oh, and they're in Germany this time. I had a hard time when they were in Japan. I had to get up at 2 or 4 am to watch a live match. I'm already getting soccer fever. I can't wait!