Paris Olympics: Why do Olympians bite their medals?

The quadrennial event used to award pure gold medals to its participants until the 1912 Stockholm Games. It was stopped after that due to the outbreak of the First World War.

Gold medallist Usain Bolt bites his medal. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Olympian medallists are often seen biting their medals after the victory ceremony. Ever wonder what is the significance behind such a move? Sportstar delves into this phenomenon.

History

It is important to delve into history to understand this tradition. When the Olympic Games were first held in ancient Greece, only one participant was honoured as the ultimate champion. 

After the Olympics was revived by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894, the 1896 Athens Games saw participants being awarded silver and bronze medals for the first time.

The quadrennial event used to award pure gold medals to its participants until the 1912 Stockholm Games. It was stopped after that due to the outbreak of the First World War.

Nowadays, gold medals are mostly made of gold-plated silver.

What is the significance of this action?

In ancient times, merchants used to bite into anything made of gold to check its purity because the malpractice of mixing it with other cheaper metals was prevalent. 

As Gold is a malleable metal, objects made purely with the metal would be left with teeth marks. On the other hand, chipped teeth or scratch marks would immediately indicate forgery.

Nowadays, athletes do it because of tradition or due to incessant requests from photographers. The biting of medals has no significance from a sporting perspective.