The Winter Olympics are coming! Top athletes from team USA posed for a Game of Thrones-inspired photo shoot to celebrate the debut of The Olypmic Channel: Home of the USA which launches on Saturday, July 15, and will connect viewers with their favorite Olympic sports and athletes. (HBO’s hit fantasy drama kicks off season 7 on Sunday, July 16.)
The Winter Olympic Games are slated to begin on February 8, but eager fans who can’t wait for the games’ commencement can indulge in an incredible collection of photos that include Lindsey Vonn, Gus Kenworthy, Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner, Mikaela Shiffrin and Hilary Knight.
To create the detailed structure reminiscent of the HBO hit’s Iron throne Westeros scenic artist Shannon Kennedy traveled across the state of California to gather second-hand sports equipment from local athletes and repurposed the beloved pieces.
According to the Home of Team USA press release, Kennedy and her team used five saw blades to manipulate the sporting goods — which included 36 skis, eight snowboards, 28 ski poles, 18 hockey sticks, a pile of various ice skates and winter sports gloves, masks and pucks — to create the throne. The team used sculpted styrofoam to create the iceberg base.
Once in position, the artists applied a variety of metallic sprays and treatments to mimic the appearance of weathered steel weapons. The surfaces were then primed, chromed and aged, giving the throne its worn look.
The icy background images used in the shoot were captured at Taebaek Provincial Park in PyeongChang, South Korea, the home of the 2018 Winter Olympic games.
To learn more about Home of Team USA and the Winter Olympics, visit teamusa.org
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