Late in July, London, England, will welcome the 2012 Olympic Games, making it the first three-time Olympic host. The Games will bring together athletes from 144 nations, competing in 26 different sports.

Canada qualified seven boats at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, in September 2011, with the possibility of qualifying more in May 2012. With so many of the best Canadian rowers competing for a seat on the Olympic team, we will be stiff competition in this high-profile sport. This is how rowing came to be the focus of our London 2012 Olympic Games stamp.

Originally planned for inclusion in the 1896 Olympic Games, the event was cancelled due to weather, and debuted instead in 1900.

“This stamp,” notes Danielle Trottier, stamp design manager, “speaks to who we are, and what our athletes are competing for.” Printed in lithography with a seven-colour process, metallic ink was used to enhance the ripples in the water so it seems to move as light plays across the surface of the stamp.

Illustrated by Keith Martin and designed by Mike Savage and Kosta Tsetsekas of Signals Design, the stamp features a double-scull boat. Gliding over a sheet of water, it creates its own wake as it moves, the bow of the boat pushing out over the blue edge as if to show it crossing the finish line.

The power and tension that combine in the stamp image speaks to Canada's participation in these Olympic Games, the hopes of our athletes for a medal finish and our desire to prove ourselves champions on the world stage.