This is a small replica of what will be at Champions Plaza. Photo/Provided

“Elements of spirit” is what artist Gareth Curtiss calls the figures leaping from the flames toward the ring of glory.

He has been commissioned to create the art piece that will be the focal point of South Lake Tahoe’s Champions Plaza near El Dorado Beach.

While the sculptures he presented at the City Council meeting last week showed three men, one with his hand on the ring, Curtiss has since agreed one of the figures will be a woman.

The city for a few years has been talking about creating a public area to recognize high caliber athletes.

The bronze statue will be 10-feet high, 5 feet at the widest, with the ring being 18-inches in diameter.

Curtiss expects to pour the bronze in the spring, with the statue being ready to be erected in the summer.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report