Itella Posti is moving fast to mark Sami Jauhojärvi’s and Iivo Niskanen’s gold medal triumph in the men’s team sprint at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics with a special stamp due to be issued on Monday, March 3.
The stamp is based on a photograph of the pair by Antti Aimo-Koivisto, taken at the Sochi medal ceremony. Titled Men’s sprint gold, the stamp is designed by Ari Lakaniemi and Susanna Rumpu.
Those wishing to secure this special edition stamp will need to act fast as it is issued in a limited edition of just 250,000. The stamp will be priced at EUR 1.80.
Issued as a personalized stamp, the stamp will be available from March 3, 2014 at Posti’s own outlets and web store at www.posti.fi/goshopping. Online, the stamps are available for purchase as a 10-stamp sheet. Single stamps are available at Posti outlets.
“I’ll probably get recognized more often now”
The Olympic gold medalists are happy and surprised to learn that they will be commemorated with their own stamp.
“I never would have believed I’d end up on a stamp. At the Olympic Village, I had a personalized stamp made of myself, but it is incredible to have an official stamp now. I’ll probably get recognized more often now,” Jauhojärvi commented.
“It feels incredible to get my own stamp. The stamp makes one feel like an important person and part of sports history,” Niskanen stated.
Granlund’s air hook celebrated with a stamp in 2011
The personalized stamp service is ideally suited for stamp releases that need a quick turn around. “Thanks to our personalized stamp service, we are able to respond swiftly to important events in Finland and to get stamps out considerably quicker than if we were to use the official release procedure,” commented Markku Penttinen, Development Director at Itella Posti Oy.
According to Penttinen, sports are one of the most highly requested stamp motifs. “In Finland, a cross-country ski Olympic gold is definitely considered something truly heroic and absolutely deserves to be marked with a stamp.
The previous sports-related personalized stamp was released following Finland’s gold medal win at the 2011 Ice Hockey World Championships in Slovakia. The stamp displayed the legendary air hook goal scored by Mikael Granlund in a match against Russia.
All stamps available for sale are featured in Posti’s online shop:
www.posti.fi/goshopping
Image material for the media:
http://digilibrary.itella.com/?cart=1574-jbdjheljel&l=FI
