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Athletes, Fans Getting Tattooed² in London

The blue, yellow, black, green, and red interlocking rings that make up the symbol of the Olympic Games are getting etched into the skin of Olympic athletes across London, a reminder³ that they competed in one of the world's top sporting events.

These two friends are swimmers on New Zealand's Olympic team.

Steven Kent competed in the men's 4 x 200 freestyle relay. He didn't qualify for the final but says making it to the Games was reason enough to get the rings tattooed on his chest.

“The Olympics means a lot to us," said Kent. "To me, especially. It's something I've always wanted to do and to have a constant reminder every day is pretty special I reckon.”

This parlor⁴ has the Olympic symbol posted on its wall, to help its artists with the dozens of tattoos⁵ they're doing.

In the waiting room, a whole swim team from Australia waits their turn. Emily Seebohm won the Olympic silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke.

“If you go to the Olympics you kind of want to show it off," said Seebohm. "It's a big achievement and it takes a lot of time to get there and you put so much effort into it, it's just something you do.”

The athletes may not be your typical patrons of a London tattoo¹ parlor. But they've been good sports about the painful procedure, says owner Mo Coppoletta.

“They are barely legal to get a tattoo so I suppose for a lot of them it's their first," said Coppoletta. "They all took it very well and I suppose if you want something that bad you just sit and take it.”

Coppoletta said he would be tattooing⁶ Olympic rings well into the evening and in the days to come, making sure the Olympians and their fans are marked for life.