Olympic medal ... Which athlete does not dream of this priceless award? The gold medals of the Olympics are what champions of all times and peoples keep with special care. How else, because it is not only the pride and glory of the athlete himself, but also the global heritage. This is history. Are you interested in knowing what the Olympic gold medal consists of? Is it made of pure gold?
From the history of the Olympic Games
An interesting fact is that in the Olympic Games of Antiquity, winners were not awarded with medals. In ancient Greece, from the time of the first Olympics in 776 BC, wreaths of wild olive were used as attributes of victory, which were awarded to champions on the last day of competition in the temple of Zeus. An ancient Greek playwright named Aristophanes even joked about this in his play “Plutus,” which he wrote in 408 BC. He argued that Zeus was clearly a poor god, otherwise he would not have presented his Olympians with wreaths of branches, but gold. Various material prizes, values became the reward for winning the Olympics later. King Endymion, for example, gave his kingdom to the winner of the competition. True, it is known that only his sons participated in them. In ancient Greece, for all 293 Olympics, many prizes were awarded to champions, thousands of gold coins were paid, but not a single medal was presented.
The emergence of the main Olympic award
The decision to use medals as a reward in the Olympics was made only in 1894. Then, two years before the Olympic Games in Athens, the First Olympic Congress spelled out the basic rules and principles for awarding winners. The statutory document of the Olympic movement, developed at that time, was called the Olympic Charter.
In this document, the basic principle of rewarding Olympic champions was described - it was decided to distribute medals to athletes, depending on the places taken. The third place was awarded a bronze medal, the second place was a silver medal (925 test), and the winner was given a silver medal of the same sample, but coated with pure gold. The diameter of the medals should be about sixty millimeters, and the thickness should be three. Since then, the size and even the shape of medals have been changed many times.
For a long time, the medal was awarded directly to the winner of the competition. And in 1960, thin chains of bronze were made for the Olympic Games in Rome and attached to medals. An interesting fact is that the organizers, along with the medals, handed the scissors to the girls who carried them out. So they decided to play it safe in case of any objections. The chain could be quickly cut off and the award handed directly to the athlete. But everyone liked the innovation, and since then, Olympic medals have been hung around the winners.
Modern medals
It is known that bronze and silver are inexpensive metals compared to gold. Therefore, it is not surprising that the name of the bronze and silver Olympic medals comes from the material from which they are made. A bronze medal is an alloy of copper, zinc and tin, which is a bronze alloy. The actual price of such an award is about $ 10 (depending on size). The silver medal is 93% sterling silver and 7% copper. The cost of a silver medal can vary from 200 to 500 dollars.
And what does a gold Olympic medal consist of? Is it made of pure gold? The answer, it would seem, is obvious - yes, from gold, because the titanic work of athletes should be appreciated, and gold is not a pity for this. But, as was approved in the Olympic Charter of 1894, gold medals are also made of 925 sterling silver. The composition of the Olympic gold medal is the same as the composition of the silver. The only thing that distinguishes these two awards is the application of six grams of pure gold to the gold medal. How much is the gold medal of the Olympics? Its price is about 1000-1200 dollars.
Gold gold
There was a period in the history of the Olympic Games when the highest awards were made of pure gold. For the first time, 100% gold medals were awarded to champions in 1904 at the Stockholm Olympics. Athletes of two other Olympics - 1908 and 1912 - received such awards, and in the next winner they were awarded a silver medal, coated with six grams of gold.
This decision was made, most likely, for economic reasons. A country that receives athletes from around the world at the Olympics bears enormous expenses for its organization. The number of participants in competitions, sports, and, consequently, the number of awards increased each time, so saving on the manufacture of medals is a reasonable move. In addition, the prestige of the Olympic Games has grown, and therefore the actual value of medals has exceeded several times the cost of the metals included in them. Now the Olympic gold medals are not just a reward, for an athlete it is a guarantee of perpetuating their name, it is great pride and glory.
The fate of some medals
The bulk of the champions who received the Olympic medal, stores it as a family heirloom, passes by inheritance. But there are times when athletes decide to sell the medal at auction.
So, for example, did Mark Wells, a member of the US hockey team. In 1980, all the players of this team received Olympic gold medals. Mark sold his at an auction in 2012 for $ 310,700. He spent the money on vital treatment.
But not all athletes manage to realize their awards so dearly. Anthony Erwin, the 2000 world champion in the 50 meter freestyle, decided to give the proceeds for his gold medal to the tsunami victims in the Indian Ocean. But they managed to sell it for just $ 17,100. And John Conradz, the 1960 1,500-meter world freestyle champion, sold his medal in 2011 for $ 11,250.
Awards in Sochi 2014
We have already examined what the Olympic gold medal consists of. Its composition, like the form, is regulated by international laws. But the design is being developed by the host country of the Olympics, coordinating it with the International Olympic Committee. What was the gold medal of the 2014 Olympics that took place in Sochi? What did the silver and bronze awards look like? Many are also interested in how many gold medals were won at the Olympics. Let's talk about this further.
The appearance of the medals of the Olympics 2014
A large number of people took part in the design of the highest sports award for the 2014 Olympics. President of Russia Vladimir Putin was also involved in this process. For the first time, the result of the work of the creators was presented to the world on May 30, 2013.
On the front side of the 2014 Olympic medal is a symbol of the Olympics - five rings, and on the back there is an emblem of the competition and the name of the sport in English. On the edge of the medals you can read the name of the Olympics. The photo on the right shows how this award looks.
Total costs
The bronze, silver and gold medals of the 2014 Olympics were made at the Adamas jewelry factory, one of the country's leading jewelry enterprises. The highest Olympic awards went through 25 stages of production. It was estimated that about 20 working hours were spent on the manufacture of one medal, so this process can hardly be called simple.
In total, 1254 medals were made for international competitions in Sochi. Three kilograms of gold, two tons of silver, seven hundred kilograms of bronze were spent for this. More awards were made than was necessary. According to the rules of the International Olympic Committee, in case two participants show the same results, there should always be a margin. Unclaimed awards of the 2014 Olympics were transferred to museums in the country.