In Ancient Greece, to win in the Olympic Games was the greatest honour a man could wish for. The winners got a wreath woven from the branches of the sacred olive tree that grew in Olympia. But their home cities welcomed them like heroes, and often gave them large rewards, such as free meals for life, free front seats at the theatre, positions in the government, and sometimes money.
Other rewards included tearing down city walls to let the winners in, because they believed they did not need walls as long as they had young men like them to defend them.
Fast forward to modern day Australia, and while the hype may not be what it used to, Australia’s best ever start to an Olympics and record four wins in one day on Sunday, Australia Post will feature the latest gold medallists in Australian Gold Medallist Stamps for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
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From Thursday to Sunday, the extraordinary efforts of Zac Stubblety-Cook, Jessica Fox, Logan Martin, Kaylee McKeown, Chelsea Hodges, Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, and Matt Wearn saw the Australian Olympic team finish the first week in Tokyo with a record 14 gold medals.
In a week filled with incredible accomplishments, Jessica Fox took home gold in the C1 Canoe Slalom at her third Olympics, and Logan Martin became the inaugural gold medallist for the BMX Freestyle cycling event.
In the pool, Kaylee McKeown achieved back-to-back wins with the 100m and 200m Backstroke events for just the fifth time in Olympic history, and Emma McKeon broke the record for the most gold medals won by an Australian at a single Olympic Games after her win with the Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay team.
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Stamps featuring an image of the athletes from each event with their gold medals in Tokyo will be available in participating Australia Post retail outlets and online from this week.
Australia Post will celebrate each Australian gold medal performance in Tokyo with a gold medallist stamp, which will be produced within 72 hours of the medal ceremony taking place and available in participating Post Offices or via mail order.