What to do with your Race Medals (Instead of leaving them in a drawer)

You trained for months. You woke up before dawn. You crossed the finish line.

And then... you put the medal in a bag, or a box, or a drawer and forgot about it.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common things we hear from athletes across South Africa. The medal gets worn once, photographed on race day, and then quietly disappears. The achievement fades with it.

Here’s the thing: that medal represents more than a race. It represents the 5 am training runs, the sacrificed weekends, the sore legs, the self-doubt you pushed through. It deserves better than being stuffed in a bag or hung on a coat hanger hidden in a cupboard.

So what can you actually do with your race medals?

Here are five ideas and an honest look at which one actually works long-term.

Why Race Medals End Up Forgotten

Before we get into the solutions, it’s worth naming the problem clearly.

Most athletes don’t have a plan for their medals after race day. The focus is entirely on training and finishing, which is as it should be. But without a deliberate home for the medal, it ends up wherever there’s space: a bedside table, a bag hook, eventually a box.

Over time, that box fills up. Five medals become ten. Ten becomes twenty. And somewhere in that pile is the half marathon you trained months for, sitting underneath a swimming gala ribbon from 2019.

5 Ways to Display Your Race Medals

Here’s a breakdown of every option, from the quick fix to the long-term solution.

 

• The Shadow Box

  A shadow box is a deep picture frame designed to hold three-dimensional objects. You can arrange your medals, race numbers, and photos behind glass for a gallery-style display. It looks impressive and works well for a single race or a small collection. The downside: shadow boxes are awkward to update. Every time you earn a new medal, you’re pulling the whole thing apart. For athletes who race regularly, this gets frustrating quickly.

• A Medal Frame

  Medal frames are purpose-built frames with hooks or slots for medals, often with space for a race photo. They’re widely available and look clean on a wall. Again, capacity is the issue. Most frames hold between one and six medals. Once you’ve raced beyond that, you’re buying a second frame and a third and your display starts to look scattered rather than proud. Not to talk about the wall space required.

• DIY Solutions

  There’s a whole world of Pinterest boards dedicated to homemade medal displays: curtain rods, wooden dowels, rope strung between hooks. They can look great with some effort, and the cost is minimal. The honest truth: most DIY medal displays end up looking like a DIY medal display. They work, but they don’t do justice to what the medals represent.

• Keeping Them in a Box or Bag

  This is where most medals currently live. It’s not a display strategy — it’s an avoidance strategy. Out of sight means out of mind, and out of mind means the motivation those medals carry disappears with them.

• A Dedicated Medal Hanger — The Long-Term Solution

  A purpose-built medal hanger is the only solution designed specifically for athletes who keep racing. It mounts to a wall, holds multiple medals cleanly, and is designed to grow with your collection over the years. The best medal hangers are made from stainless steel: rust-resistant, durable, and built to last as long as you keep earning medals. They turn a wall in your home, training room, or garage into a visual record of everything you’ve achieved.

Why Displaying Your Medals Actually Matters

This isn’t just about aesthetics. There’s a real practical reason to keep your medals visible.

On the days when training feels hard, when it’s raining and dark and you’re questioning why you signed up for another race, a wall of medals is a physical reminder that you’ve done hard things before. You’ve crossed finish lines before. You can do it again.

There’s also something worth saying about the culture of sport in South Africa. We celebrate elite athletes loudly and briefly. The everyday athlete, the person who ran their first 10km, finished Comrades for the fourth time, completed an Ironman between work and family deserves to celebrate their achievements just as intentionally.

Displaying your medals is not showing off. It’s staying motivated. It’s honouring the work. It’s reminding yourself and anyone else in your home that achievement is possible when you put in the effort.

How to Choose the Right Medal Display for Your Collection

The right choice depends on two things: how many medals you currently have, and how many you plan to earn.

If you’re a once-a-year racer with a small collection, a shadow box or medal frame will serve you well. Choose something that holds a few more than you currently have so you have room to grow.

If you compete regularly, road races, triathlons, cycling events, gymnastics competitions, you need a solution that grows with you. A stainless steel medal hanger is the practical choice: wall-mounted, durable, and designed to hold a serious collection without cluttering your space.

Also consider what else you want to display. Race numbers, finisher photos, and certificates can all be incorporated into a well-planned wall. The medal hanger is the anchor; everything else builds around it.

Your Medals Deserve More Than a Drawer

Every medal on that wall tells a story. A story about a decision you made to sign up. About the training you committed to. About the morning you showed up even when you didn’t feel like it. About the finish line you crossed.

Those stories deserve to be seen, by you, every day, as a reminder of what you’re capable of.

Stop letting your achievements collect dust. Display them with pride.