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Every athlete dreams of making his nation proud by winning a medal in the Olympic Games. Players put thousands of hours into their training day and night to fulfill their dream of standing on the podium and wear the medal around their neck. But do you know that Olympic athletes who got the first place were not awarded a gold medal. In this edition of the Olympic Games, the first-place player got a silver medal and the second place player got bronze medal. The player finishing third had to return empty-handed. It is difficult to digest in the current scenario. However, it took about eight years to change the practice and and award the winner a gold medal.
Olympic Games started after the ban
About 1500 years ago, Roman emperor Theodosius had banned the Olympic Games, which were restarted in Athens in 1896. In the resumed Olympic Games, the tradition of giving medals to the winners was adopted. However, in the 1896 Olympic Games, medals were given only to the players who finished first and second. The winner got a silver medal and the runner-up got a bronze medal. The player who finished third didn’t get handed. On the front part of the medal was inscribed with Zeus, the father of the gods, whereas the other part depicted Acropolis.
Why gold medal wasn’t awarded?
The reason behind not giving gold medal in the first Olympic Games was inflation. Gold was very expensive in Athens at that time, so the gold medal was not given. This was the reason why American athlete James Connolly who became the first champion of the modern Olympic Games, had to go home with a silver medal.
The practice of gold medal started in 1904
The '3 medal format' that we recognise today began with the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games, when winners were awarded gold medals for the first time. Since then, this practice has been followed in all the Olympic Games till date. Apart from this, diplomas were given to the players who stood fourth, fifth and sixth. The practice started in the 1948 Olympic Games. Later, in 1984, the practice of giving diplomas to players who finished seventh and eighth was started.
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