Oly: Aussie gold medallists to become "instant" stamps =2

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2000
Oly: Aussie gold medallists to become "instant" stamps =2

Mr Maiden said it normally took 12 to 18 months to produce a stamp.

"During the Olympics we will shorten that to 12 to 18 hours," he said.

Photographers will be at every final to capture the image, which will be e-mailed to
Australia Post within an hour and dropped into a stamp template.

The new 45 cent stamp will be printed that night and distributed around the country.

Former 1500m gold medallist Herb Elliot said the stamps would be a fitting tribute
to Australian Olympic champions.

"The athletes deserve national recognition like this given all the hard work they put
in to be successful at the Olympic Games," he said.

A further two million stamps using normal offset printing methods would be produced
within three days, Australia Post said.

The scheme has the approval of Australian and international Olympic officials, and
permission to use the athletes' images was written into their competition contracts.

And if an Australian athlete wins more than one gold medal?

"There'll be a separate stamp issued for each winning performance," Mr Maiden said.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has nominated a target of 20 gold medals for the Games.

AAP jc/jnb/bwl

KEYWORD: OLY STAMPS 2 SYDNEY

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