Why Olympians bite their medals and what they do with them

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Tokyo 2020’s official account even went all the way to Sunday to try and remind people that medals aren’t, in fact, edible.

“We just want to officially confirm that the # Tokyo2020 medals are not edible,” he said. noted.

“Our medals are made from recycled materials from electronic devices donated by the Japanese public. So you don’t have to bite them… but we know you always will.”

But why do these victorious athletes decide to celebrate their crowning glory by pretending to bite into their gold medals?

David Wallechinsky, a member of the executive committee of the International Society of Olympic Historians, told CNN in 2012 that it was likely an attempt to please the media.

“It has become an obsession with photographers,” explains Wallechinsky, co-author of “The Complete Book of the Olympics”. “I think they see it as an iconic cliché, as something you can probably sell. I don’t think it’s something athletes would probably do on their own.”

The phenomenon is not, however, exclusive to the Olympic Games.

Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has become famous for appearing to want to take some of the trophies he wins, especially the Musketeers Cup – the Roland-Garros men’s singles trophy – it has become so familiar.

READ: Daniil Medvedev asks who will take responsibility if he dies in the heat and humidity of the Tokyo Olympics
Nadal bites the Coupe des Mousquetaires after his victory at Roland Garros.

Keep it safe

Successful athletes from across the Olympic spectrum made different efforts to find a place for their medals.

Team GB’s Tom Daley, who won the 10m synchronized diving competition with partner Matty Lee on Monday, knitted a pouch to keep his gold medal safe while in Tokyo.
Daley, who began crocheting during lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, posted on Instagram that he had done the backing to “keep him from getting scratched.”

For Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic, who won gold in the men’s individual time trial, he admitted that the medal itself surprised him.

“It’s actually quite heavy, but it’s beautiful. I’m super proud and happy,” he told media.

Gold medalist Lasha Bekauri of Georgia nibbles his award at the medal ceremony in men's -90kg judo.
In 2008, USA footballer Christie Rampone told the Tampa Bay Times that her fan of medals was hidden among the pots and pans in her house because she thought they would be the last places anyone could look. .

During his Olympic debut, Michael Phelps developed innovative methods to carry his medals.

In a “60 Minute” interview with Anderson Cooper in 2012, Phelps said he kept his eight 2008 Beijing Games gold in a travel makeup bag wrapped in a gray T-shirt.

Considering he is the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals, Phelps may have to adopt a new method of housing them.

However, not all athletes have preserved their Olympic memories.

Superstar boxer Wladimir Klitschko told CNN he sold the gold medal he won at the 1996 Atlanta Games for $ 1 million, with the funds going to the Klitschko Brothers Foundation, a charity created by him and his brother Vitali to help poor children in their home nation of Ukraine.

“We care about education and sport, it is the key to the life of any child,” said Wladimir.

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“If they have knowledge, they can be successful with that in their adult life and sport gives them the rules – how to respect your opponent, how to respect the rules.

“It’s always in life like that, you go down but you have to get up, and sport gives you this beautiful lesson.”

American swimmer Anthony Ervin auctioned his 2000 Olympic gold medal on eBay to help survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.



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