Over the years, you may have seen athletes posing with their heard-earned medals by biting them. It has been a rare sight for Indian athletes to win a gold medal at the Olympics with most recent being javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. For athletes, it is a dream to do the iconic pose after winning the medal at the Olympic Games.
However, you have not known the reason behind why Olympians bite their medals? The reason is more than a century old.
In the early days of the Olympics, gold was not just a medal but a form of currency as well. The traders used to check the authenticity of the gold by biting it as it is a soft metal and dents if put under pressure.
However, the current athletes continue to do it as more of a tradition, than checking the authenticity of the soft metal. In 1912, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stopped awarding pure gold medals in 1912.
Why do athletes continue to bit their medals?
While some do it on their own, athletes have revealed that they are often asked by the photographers to do it. The photographs of athletes biting the medal often make it to the newspapers or websites around the world.
“It’s become an obsession with the photographers,” David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians, told CNN.
“I think they look at it as an iconic shot, as something that you can probably sell. I don't think it's something the athletes would probably do on their own,” Wallechinsky further explained.
When an athlete broke his tooth while biting the medal
However, the obsession with the iconic pose led to German luger David Moeller breaking his tooth after winning the silver at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“The photographers wanted a picture of me holding the medal just with my teeth,” Moeller told German newspaper Bild. “Later at dinner, I noticed a bit of one of my teeth was missing.”
The tradition will continue in the Paris Olympics 2024 as well but the champion athletes are unlikely to break their tooth while doing it. Also, it will be interesting to see how many Indian athletes manage to win medals and do the photographers’ favourite pose.
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