The Olympics, the world’s largest sporting event, held every four years, sees thousands of athletes competing for the dream of winning gold medals.
But have you ever noticed the peculiar habit of gold medal winners biting their medals? Famous Olympians like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt have all been seen performing this odd act.
Historically, traders would bite gold coins to check their authenticity, as gold is a soft metal and teeth marks would confirm its purity. However, Olympic athletes are not testing their medals for purity. In fact, the International Olympic Committee stopped awarding pure gold medals after 1912.
So why do athletes bite their medals? The answer lies in the demands of photographers. According to the International Olympic Association, this quirky tradition is fueled by photographers who believe that the image of an athlete biting their medal will make a great shot for newspapers.
David Velchinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians, mentioned in an interview that such poses have become a hobby for photographers. They consider it an iconic image that can be sold, rather than something athletes naturally do.
Interestingly, this tradition can sometimes backfire. David Müller, a silver medalist from the 2010 Winter Olympics, actually broke a tooth while striking this pose for a photo.
Thus, the tradition of athletes biting their Olympic medals is less about testing the gold and more about creating a memorable, sellable image for the media.
