Lego Summer Olympics Minifigures?!?

Did you know that Lego is making a set of 9 minifigures for the upcoming London 2012 Games (also known as the Summer Olympics)? Neither did I! Here is your informational post, press release and most importantly... PHOTOS of the minifigures!

If you want an opponent for your Series 5 Boxer, now is your chance. Well, technically you could buy two and swap heads, but now there are blue gloves and headwear, which make all the difference. These are basically companions (repaints) of minifigures we're seen in recent releases, but if you're into army building, a fan of Team GB, or a completist... these are for you.

To celebrate the London 2012 Games, the number one selling toy in the UK market is back with an exclusive special edition line of Team GB LEGO Minifigures

With less than 71 days to go until the UK’s biggest sporting event of the century, for the first time in history LEGO has launched a special edition range of Team GB Minifigures. The collectible range will only be available in the UK to commemorate this once in a lifetime event for the nation.

Full press release, MASSIVE images, and thoughts... after the jump!

The Team GB LEGO Minifigures spark the sporting imagination, so you can stage your very own Games.At just £1.99 each, the Team GB LEGO Minifigures will be in stores from 1st July 2012 in John Lewis and other good high street retailers.

There are nine exclusive Team GB LEGO Minifigures in the line-up, including:
Brawny Boxer - Punching his way to the top, this lean machine in blue is ready to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee for Team GB!

The Stealth Swimmer - Like a fish in the water, the Stealth Swimmer is ready to torpedo through the water into to pole position.

Relay Runner - Sprinting to reach the winning line, could this give Team GB a relay team victory?

Judo Fighter - Taking down her opponent’s one at a time, this mistress of martial arts knocks down anything in her way to grasp that gold medal.

Tactical Tennis Player - First on the court in his gleaming whites, this tennis ace will knock the white socks off of any competition.

Flexible Gymnast - Balance and co-ordination is the name of the game for this agile Olympic contender.

Wondrous Weightlifter - Powerlifting his personal best, the crowd looks on as this burley guy weighs up his chances of going for gold.

Horseback rider - Riding her way to the last hurdle, this athlete won’t be horsing around when it comes to winning!

A one-eyed archer? AWESOME.

Agile Archer - Complete with bow in hand, let’s hope this little fella will be on target on the day!

What I find most interesting about this release is that Lego has opened the doors to retheme-ing their themed minifigures for a current event. We've seen this a little bit before with promotions and exclusives, but in the past 2 years, the physical minifigure possibilities have grown considerably. These Team GB minifigures are all characters that we've seen before. How long until we see the Baseball Player from Series 3 repainted for each Major League Baseball team? Available only at the ballparks. Same with the Hockey Player in Series 4 and any other sports characters. And how about placing the Zookeeper in the gift shops at the large zoos, with the logo and varying hairstyles, or varying paint jobs, or even varying animal companions.

The possibilities are really exciting. Also very scary for the completist in me.

And how long until we have a major Lego sports video game using all of these characters?