Celebrate and support the US Sailing Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with our exclusive collection. Featuring the specially designed US Sailing Team Marseille Pin, which is shared and traded among athletes. You can join in on the history of Olympic Pin Trading with some of these exclusive merchandise items and learn more about our US Sailing Team Marseille Pin below.
History of Olympic Pin Trading
Pin trading is a sign of international friendship and a special part of each Games experience. Every country brings their own pins to trade with one another as
a social activity between competition and in the village. Olympic pin trading is believed to have started in Athens 1896 at the first modern Olympic Games when athletes, coaches, and officials traded their cardboard identifiers, and the practice has now evolved to enamel pins. Participants display their pin collections on the lanyards that hold their accreditation for the Games, and it’s seen as a “contest within a contest” to collect the coolest pins around.
Pin Design Explanation
The outer frame of the pin is inspired by the 1896 lithograph “Zodiac” by Alphonse Mucha in the Art Nouveau art style. Art Nouveau flourished throughout Europe from 1890 to 1910 but was given its name in Paris when a Franco-German art dealer, Sigfried Bing, filled an art gallery with art exclusively in the style and named the gallery “Art Nouveau” (“New Art”).
The bottom row of the pin features organic interpretations of the American and French flags and “USA Sailing” in a very typical Art Nouveau font. The main focus of the pin is a grand Eiffel Tower flourish framed by a 470, a 49er/49erFX/Nacra square-topped mainsail shape, and a kite to honor their first appearance at an Olympic Games. Above “USA Sailing” is a map of the Seine river that runs through Paris. To the right above the French Flag is a motif that represents water, and opposite the water is a representation of wind, our two elements in sailing. To the left of the Seine in the triangular space is a piece of the foil shape that is featured on the bottom of iQFOiL windsurfers and Formula Kite kiteboards.
Within the Eiffel Tower is a small “24” for 2024, and five circles around the outer circle of the pin frame nod back to the zodiac circles in the lithograph but represent the Olympic Rings. The filigree in between the circles is hand drawn and inspired by the perimeter of Mucha’s “Zodiac.”
Meet Allison Chenard, the 2024 US Sailing Team Marseille Pin Designer
Paris 2024 will be Allison Chenard’s second Olympic Games with the US Sailing Team, joining prior to Tokyo 2020. A lifelong sailor from Lake Norman, North Carolina, Chenard joined US Sailing after graduation from the University of Georgia in 2020 and is in charge of all branding, media, design, and communications for the Team. She follows athletes around the world as they pursue their Olympic dreams, telling their stories across a variety of mediums.
Allison Chenard | Press Officer, US Olympic Sailing
Show Your Support for Your US Sailing Team
Show your support for the US Sailing Team with our exclusive made-to-order items featuring the unique Marseille Pin design. From T-shirts to mugs, you can display your pride with gear that celebrates our athletes’ journey to Marseille.
Additionally, an exclusive ‘Members Only‘ Yeti Rambler is available through the US Sailing Store. Verify your membership or sign up today by clicking the link below! Enjoy exclusive discount pricing on a Red, White, and Blue three-pack, available only during the Olympic Games. Show your support for the US Sailing Team and display your USA pride with this limited-edition Yeti Rambler.