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The Commonwealth Games, which will be hosted in Glasgow, Scotland this year, will feature medals with Braille on them. This is an important step towards greater inclusion of sight-impaired Para athletes, as this is the first time the Commonwealth medals have had braille imprinted on them.

The medals were designed by Glasgow artist Militsa Milenkova. She wanted to represent the city, so she gave the medals a triangular shape, inspired by Glasgow’s coat of arms. Trying to include the blind, she put braille as well.

Braille is a system that uses a series of raised dots to help the visually impaired and blind read. They simply run their finger over the dots, feel for different patterns, and turn that into words.

At past sporting events, there have been medals that included braille, and some with other creative ways to help the blind read. One medal had a device in it that rattled when shook, telling the athlete if they had won gold, silver, or bronze.

The games will have 10 sports and 6 para-sports, bringing thousands of athletes from 74 countries together. This year will also have the biggest para-sport medal tally ever in the Commonwealth Games. On top of that, the very first medal will be given for para-powerlifting, the first time the first medal given will be given for a para-sport.