What’s the point of winning a medal if no one sees it?
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When you’re a dedicated pavement pounder—we’re talking the type of runner who always makes the marathon—medals and race bibs tend to pile up, hence the need for a quality medal hanger. Not only does it help to keep all your honors, recognitions, and participation mementos in order, but it’s essential for properly showing off—and isn’t that at least part of the point of a medal in the first place?
Whether you’ve amassed a ton of medals and want someplace to keep them all organized and on display, or perhaps there are one or two awards in particular that you want to flaunt to family and friends, there are a variety of medal hangers out there to suit different circumstances. Some are straightforward racks of hooks that do little more than keep all your ribbons in one place, leaving plenty of opportunities to add more. Others have a mount for displaying race bibs or a shelf for trophies, and more still are designed to single out a single awesome victory.
Below you’ll find a selection of medal hangers spanning a range of situations and needs. To choose each, I drew from a combination of personal experience and reviews from buyers on Amazon. As a lifelong runner who has earned my fair share of medals (though, admittedly, not as many as I’d like), I have dabbled in all manner of hangers and displays. These are the best medal hangers on the market, including options made from durable, nice-looking materials and those that are easy to hang up in your home.
This medal hanger from iBobbish is great because it does pretty much everything right. It has 20 sturdy hooks that can easily hold dozens of medals and ribbons, and the hooks aren’t too crowded which reduces bunching. It’s available as a simple row of hooks, or you can order one of several inspirational messages.
Installation is a snap and it is durably constructed. But perhaps my favorite element is its bamboo shelf, which can be used to display trophies or anything else, really. It would be nice if the shelf board was available in more color options, but I like the natural aesthetic, so beyond that nitpick it’s an all-around outstanding option.
For a medal rack with an elegant look that’ll match the rest of your decor, check out this hanger from the astutely named Medal Awards Rack. All three of its color options have a more refined aesthetic than most metal medal displays, and its four-foot width offers plenty of capacity while looking impressively expansive.
It costs more than your typical medal hanger, but you’re paying for something that will look nice in your home—plus, there is so much room on this hook that it could suit a whole family of runners.
Unless you happen to be Eliud Kipchonge, you’ll probably gather more race bibs over the years than medals. The Bibfolio from Gone for a Run is a great way to display them all thanks to its clean look, straightforward installation, and solid 24-medal and 100-bib capacity.
Medals hang from a rail rather than hooks, which gives it a clean, minimalist aesthetic and keeps them from falling off. It also comes with plastic bib protectors that keep your bibs in good shape and make them easy to flip through when you want to show them off.
If you’re a truly avid runner who’s stacking up the bibs and medals year after year, it makes sense that you would take what was already our favorite combo bib and medal display and double it.
Actually, the Deluxe Bibfolio more than doubles it, bringing the capacity up to 100 medals and 200 bibs. The multi-tiered design looks impressive too. It’s the kind of display spread that won’t go unnoticed, but it may look a little sparse if you don’t have enough to add medals and bibs to both sides.
A great alternative to hanging your medals on the wall is having them suspended from a table display, which makes it easy to move them around the room when you redecorate. This table hanger from Shimeyao is a solid pick because of its simple construction, high capacity, and adjustable height. It also rotates, because sometimes the medals in the back need love too.
The outstanding customizability of this medal hanger from Poem Studio makes this medal hanger ideal for kids. It’s surprisingly variable, allowing you to choose one name or other word, two silhouette graphics you can choose from about two dozen activities, and a bunch of great color options. Whether your kiddo is a runner, equestrian, or gymnast, this medal hanger will work great.
It’s made out of durable metal, but the edges have been smoothed so there’s nothing sharp, and it can hold plenty of medals via a series of rails rather than potentially pointy hooks. You do have to buy your own screws and hanging hardware to mount this medal hanger, but otherwise this is a fun option that makes a great gift for a competitive kid.
These individual medal displays from JupDec make for a fun way to show off medals separately rather than hanging in a bunch. Magnets hold the medal firmly in place, and the interlocking honeycomb design means that you can essentially expand your spread of medals as wide as the wall allows. The only issue is that each honeycomb is attached to the wall via adhesive patches, which are pretty strong but may not work will all surfaces.
When trophies come into the picture, you need them to have a little extra elbow room so that everything fits, including the big toppers. This display is a wide 16 inches, and its platform also has a raised lip along the edge to keep your trophies in place.
The 20 sturdy hooks will easily hold a few dozen medals, and there are many different styles and colors to choose from. This is almost the same as the iBobbish hanger we recommend above, but it’s better suited to more trophies on the shelf up top.
Nick Hilden is a writer, globetrotter, and jack-of-many-talents who has written gear reviews for the likes of Runner’s World, Popular Science, Men’s Health, Thrillist, the Daily Beast, the Los Angeles Times, Greatist, and the Manual, and his lifestyle, culture, and tech writing has also appeared in Scientific American, Afar, Salon, Vice, Healthline, and many others. Before entering journalism some 15 years ago, he worked as a bartender, brewery manager, sound engineer, recording and touring musician, cook, teacher, and in a variety of other trades. These days, he lives all over the world, performs music sporadically, and spends a lot of time thinking how to best improve his Honda Element conversion.
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