about a year ago

The collection features some of Britain’s greatest Paralympians and Olympians from the past, as well as some of the current athletes hoping to represent ParalympicsGB and Team GB at the Games this year, including: Paralympians Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE and Lee Pearson CBE, as and Olympians Sir Steve Redgrave CBE, Sebastian Coe KBE, Dame Kelly Holmes MBE (mil), Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE, Daley Thompson CBE, Denise Lewis OBE, James Cracknell OBE, Sir Chris Hoy MBE, Rebecca Adlington OBE and Ben Ainslie CBE.

A new medallion will be released each Wednesday to build the complete Our Greatest Team Legends Collection – one of only two official pieces of merchandise created to support ParalympicsGB and Team GB.

“Collecting the medallions is a fantastic way for the public to get behind our athletes and be part of British sporting history this summer. Sales of the Collection will raise valuable funds for ParalympicsGB and Team GB, supporting the athletes competing in London and beyond.”Craig Hunter, Chef de Mission ParalympicsGB

The medallions, which depict two British Paralympics and ten British Olympic winning moments from past Games, can be purchased from London 2012 sponsor BP’s forecourts across the country. The first medallion is available for £1 together with an official presentation pack and the remaining 11 medallions will cost £2 each.

Rowing Legend Sir Steve Redgrave is the first legend to have his winning moment immortalised. He launched the collection today by bringing his medallion to life and recreating his historic fifth gold medal-winning moment from Sydney 2000.

Sir Steve commented: “Collecting all the medallions is a great way to give vital support to our athletes competing at the London 2012 Games and beyond, as well as to remember and celebrate our proud heritage of Olympic and Paralympic success.

 “Let’s hope that when future generations look at their medallion collection from 2012 they will have another set of iconic winning moments from this summer’s Games to look back on too.”

Craig Hunter, Chef de Mission of ParalympicsGB, said: “Collecting the medallions is a fantastic way for the public to get behind our athletes and be part of British sporting history this summer. Sales of the Collection will raise valuable funds for ParalympicsGB and Team GB, supporting the athletes competing in London and beyond.”

Andy Hunt, Chef de Mission Team GB London 2012 commented: “We are hugely proud of our Olympic and Paralympic heritage and what better way to celebrate our legends than to produce a medallion collection to honour them. We hope that everyone will seize this opportunity to start collecting the medallions and in doing so show their support for British athletes at London 2012 and beyond.”

All profits from the sale of the Our Greatest Team Legends Collection will directly support ParalympicsGB and Team GB to help aspiring athletes deliver their best performance at London 2012 and beyond.

The second legend’s medallion to be released will be Sebastian Coe KBE in a week’s time, followed by Dame Kelly Holmes MBE (mil) on May 23 and Sir Matthew Pinsent on May 30. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson's medallion will be released on July 18, and Lee Pearson CBE on July 25.

For more information about the Our Greatest Team Legends Collection and how you can start collecting the limited edition medallions, visit www.bp.com/medallions.