WGetting a gold, silver or bronze medal at the Olympic or Paralympic Games is an incredible achievement. But have you ever wondered when the tradition of awarding medals began, what medals are actually made of, or how much they are worth?
TIME is here to answer your questions about the medals.
When did the tradition of awarding medals begin?
When the Games resumed in Athens in 1896, the first place winners received a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The athletes who came second received a bronze or copper medal, as well as a laurel branch and a diploma.
The first time gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to first, second and third place was in 1904, when the Games were held in St. Louis. IOC.
What are medals made of?
Despite its name, the gold medal is not entirely pure gold. At the last Summer Olympic Games, which took place in Tokyo in 2021, the gold medal was mostly made up of pure silver, with more than 6 grams of gold plating, according to the IOC. The silver medal consisted of pure silver. Meanwhile, the bronze medal consisted of about 95% copper and 5% zinc. Tokyo Games medals were made from metal extracted from recycled consumer electronics, according to the IOC. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, the silver and bronze medals made for the Games consisted of around 30% recycled materials, which IOC he said.
O Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee did not respond to a request for information about the specific composition of this year’s medals.
For this year’s Games, each medal also features an original iron piece from the iconic Parisian monument: the Eiffel Tower, according to the official website of the Paris 2024 Games. As the tower has undergone many renovations over the years, some parts were removed and preserved. The Eiffel Tower Operating Company allowed these original pieces to be used in this year’s Olympic and Paralympic medals.
See more information: Why are the Olympics held every four years?
What are the medals like this year?
The design of the medals to change for each edition of the Games.
This year, the iron on the Eiffel Tower formed a hexagon – the geometric shape of France, according to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games website. The iron has been stripped of its “Eiffel Tower brown” paint and is in its original dark gray color. It sits in the center of one side of the Olympic and Paralympic medals and has the emblem of the Paris 2024 Games printed on it. On the same side of the medal, lines in the color of the medal type – gold, silver or bronze – extend around the iron hexagon, according to the website. Six metal appendages place the hexagon in its place in the center of the medal.
The other side of the Olympic medals depicts the story of the rebirth of the Games in Greece, according to the Paris 2024 Games website. A traditional feature since 2004, the Greek goddess of victory, Athena Nike, is represented on the medals, as well as the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Games were restarted in 1896. The Acropolis of Athens is also represented on the medals, along with the Eiffel Tower. Tower.
Meanwhile, the other side of the Paralympic medals depicts the Eiffel Tower from an upward angle, according to the website. The words “Paris” and “2024” are engraved around the tower’s feet in universal Braille – a reference to accessibility and its French inventor, Louis Braille. Dashes are also engraved on the edge so that visually impaired athletes can feel the difference between the medals – I for gold, II for silver and III for bronze.
Olympic medal ribbons are dark blue. The Paralympic medal ribbons are a deep red, a combination of the first two layers of paint used on the Eiffel Tower, according to the Paris 2024 Games website. The medal ribbons for both Games are also decorated with the Eiffel Tower lattice .
How much do medals cost?
The Paris 2024 Games website does not specify how much each medal costs. But based on the value of gold and silver, a gold medal probably costs around $750 to $850, as reported by NBC Sports. A silver medal is probably worth around $450, while a bronze medal might be worth around $5. CNN previously reported.
But the medals are a symbol of achievement, and when they were sold, they were lost. much higher prices—in 2021, a first-place medal from the 1896 Athens Olympic Games sold for more than US$180,000, outlets reported at the time. Over the years, athletes sold their medals amid financial difficulties or to raise money for charities.
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