Nordic Mitten Contenders

I finished the first Nordic Mitten reknit yesterday as I watched the 2008 Olympics. Since the mitten I knit several years ago was too large, I went down a needle size to knit this one in hopes that the fit would be better. The new mitten fits perfectly, and surprisingly, is knit at pattern gauge.
Here are the Mitten Contenders with the mitten knit four years ago on the right. It is obvious to me which mitten is the winner but what say the judges ?

Although I was consistent in carrying the background color in the dominant hand, the Nordic Star still does not stand out and 'pop' like I had hoped it would. I'm disappointed but will live with it for I believe the choice of colors had much to do with this. I used the exact colors the pattern called for. That being said, I still think there is a 'crispness' about the new mitten that the old one is missing and I contribute this solely to carrying the thread consistently.

One lone mitten awaits a mate. I have one more week to get the left mitten knit before the Olympics are finished. Since the Nordic Star is not popping as much as I had hoped it would I have decided to go for the Silver or Bronze metal............