Why do Olympic champions like to bite their gold medals? It turns out that he is the originator. Some even broke their teeth...

Expert of this article: Li Lihang, PhD candidate in Materials Science, Dalian University of Technology

Look! Look! The Chinese team won the championship and won the gold medal again!

In these few days, the number of gold medals won by the Chinese delegation in the Tokyo Olympics has continued to increase.

When it comes to Olympic gold medals, we often see a scene where the gold medal-winning athletes bite the gold medal with their teeth after the award ceremony.

So why do champions like to bite their gold medals with their teeth? Let's find out.

About the origin of the gold medal

The first time an athlete was photographed biting a gold medal can be traced back to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. At that time, an athlete from the American swimming team who won the gold medal was very excited to put the gold medal in his mouth to celebrate his victory, and this action was successfully captured by the photographer.

After that, the "biting the gold medal" action was gradually imitated by more and more athletes until it became a common phenomenon.

Why do champions love to bite the gold medal?

As for the reasons for "biting the gold medal", there are several speculations so far:

(1) Used to detect gold content

In ancient times, due to the lack of testing equipment, people often used their teeth to bite gold coins to verify their authenticity.

Because gold has excellent toughness and ductility, when people bite it with their teeth and leave faint bite marks, it is considered to be real gold.

But in the history of the Olympics, there have only been two times when gold medals were made of pure gold: at the 1908 London Olympics in the UK and the 1912 Stockholm Olympics in Sweden.

After that, almost all of them followed the production standards of Olympic medals stipulated by the International Olympic Committee:

In terms of appearance, the medal is round with a diameter of at least 6cm and a thickness of at least 3mm. In terms of composition, the gold medal is made of at least 92.5% silver and is plated with at least 6 grams of gold. The alloy material increases the hardness of the medal, so that even if an athlete bites it with their teeth, it will not leave marks or deformation.

Therefore, this speculation is not very realistic.

(2) Requested by the photographer

When an athlete wins a gold medal, it is an honor for both the individual and the country, and attracts attention from all over the world.

The photographer will try his best to take a satisfactory photo, and naturally wants to take the gold medal and the champion in the same frame. If the champion is holding the gold medal, it will appear high-profile and deliberate.

Later, the photographer discovered that when the Olympic champions bit their gold medals, the corners of their mouths would involuntarily rise, revealing a naturally happy look, and the athletes' faces and medals would be noticed by the audience at the same time.

Some people speculate that in order to take satisfactory photos, the "biting the gold medal" action is regarded as a standard action for taking photos.

Therefore, when Olympic champions win their medals, photographers will point their finger at them and ask them to bite their gold medals, and they will take satisfactory photos. Over time, this action has become the standard photo action for Olympic athletes.

(3) To show emotion

In order to stand on the Olympic field, athletes need not only certain athletic talents but also persistent training. The Olympic Games are also a stage for testing results, and the gold medal is undoubtedly the best feedback for training results.

Therefore, "biting the gold medal" is an expression of the athlete's inner excitement and joy.

Some psychology experts said that through the sensory experience of "biting the gold medal", one can get a feeling, that is, the so-called "taste of championship".

In addition, from a psychological perspective, the first psychological stage of a person is defined as the "oral stage". After a highly concentrated mental state on the field, mental relaxation can allow a person's instinctive attributes to return. "Biting the gold medal" can establish a connection between the achievement and emotion.

It was reported that David Mellor, an outstanding German bobsled athlete, broke his teeth because he bit his gold medal too hard when he won his fourth World Championship. However, he said in a later interview: "I didn't feel any pain, I just felt a broken tooth, and then I quickly closed my mouth so that no one could see that the tooth was gone." It can be seen that the hypothesis of this emotion theory has received strong support.

About the Tokyo Olympic Gold Medal

Sun Yiwen, who won the gold medal in women's epee at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, also nibbled at the gold medal after the award ceremony.

Sun Yiwen took a bite of the gold medal

Unlike in the past, the materials for the medals used in the Tokyo Olympics come almost entirely from "electronic waste", that is, the metals in used small household appliances are effectively recycled and then used in the production of medals.

It is reported that the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee has successfully collected more than 70,000 tons of used small household appliances and more than 6 million mobile phones in more than two years, which not only enhanced the public's sense of participation in the Olympics, but also effectively recycled resources. Nearly 32 kilograms of pure gold, 3,500 kilograms of pure silver and 2,200 kilograms of pure copper extracted from them well meet the materials needed for Olympic medals.

The Olympics is a competitive sport.

Winning and losing are normal

There is no such thing as a "fixed gold medal"

The race is on

Come on, China team!

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