One face of the medal design for Gangwon 2024 has been revealed ©IOC

Part of the medal design for next year's Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon has been revealed - with the winning effort called "a sparkling future".

Twenty-seven-year-old Brazilian Dante Akira Uwai won a competition that attracted 3,000 entries to design one face of the medals, which will be presented to young athletes in South Korea.

Uwai's design interprets the Gangwon 2024 motto "grow together, shine forever" with the medals including vertical lines to symbolise growth.

The diversity of Youth Olympic Games athletes is said to be represented through cut-outs and texture changes.

"The variety of shapes and forms depicts diversity and how we can all contribute to peace and coexistence in difference ways," the International Olympic Committee said. 

"The polished finishes create dynamic little sparks of light, symbolising the desire to surpass ourselves and make positive changes in the world."

A prototype of Uwai's design will now be refined, while the other side of the medals will be created by the Gangwon 2024 Organising Committee.

This will feature the Games emblem and elements of Korean culture.

"I didn't want the medal to be a frame for a painting, only to be looked at," Uwai said. 

"I wanted it to be treated as a sculpture. 

"Something that could be picked up, viewed from different angles, and felt for its texture. 

The winning design is called
The winning design is called "a sparkling future" ©IOC

"I think the medal has a lot of that and this was very important to me.

"Winning recognition like that, out of 3,000 submissions, is very important to me and I will cherish it for the rest of my life.

"In Brazil, there is a saying - 'what differentiates an artist from other people is not talent, but a burning need to create'.

"That's something that resonates with me."

Designers from 120 countries entered the medal competition.

Zakea Page of New Zealand was involved in selecting the winner after his design was picked for the last Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne in 2020.

"This design is a worthy winner and a beautiful interpretation of the values of the Youth Olympic Games," he said.

"To me, it is reminiscent of the traditional paper lanterns that are a hallmark of Republic of Korea's celebration, hanging like canopies around temples and in parades, even dotted throughout the streets of Seoul."

Luisa Valencia Gomez of Colombia was second in the design contest and Carlos Alejandro Castañeda Arenas of Mexico was third.