Are Olympic gold medals made of real gold? Why do athletes bite their medals? Tokyo organisers speak out
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Updated 02/08/2021 at 14:39 GMT
Tokyo Olympics organisers have had to remind athletes that their medals aren't edible - but that hasn't stopped so many athletes getting the obligatory picture of them with the medal between their teeth. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+
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It's unlikely you'll get sick of seeing Team GB's stars posing with their gold medals but are you wondering why they all seem to bite their medal?
Tom Daley couldn't hold back the tears as the national anthem played after he scooped his first Olympics gold alongside partner Matty Lee, but both were all smiles when posing with their medals.
Many of the athletes may well be wearing masks during the medal ceremonies but that hasn't stopped them biting their medals for that signature Olympic photo.
Why do Olympic athletes bite their medals?
Back in the day, it was a tradition to bite gold to work out whether it was actually made from real gold or fake. If bite marks came out on the gold then it was real.
That is practically irrelevant these days but the tradition continues in sport, particularly the Olympics.
However, nowadays a more common reason athletes bite their medals is because they are actually told to by photographers.
A sea of journalists and photographers will often be at a short distance from the podiums athletes pick up their medals and they will be asked to pose with it in their mouth to make for a great photo.
Despite the tradition, Tokyo organisers recently reminded athletes their medals aren't edible like the gold chocolate coins we're used to at Christmas.
A post from the official Tokyo2020 Twitter account read: "We just want to officially confirm that the #Tokyo2020 medals are not edible!
"Our medals are made from material recycled from electronic devices donated by the Japanese public.
"So, you don't have to bite them... but we know you still will #UnitedByEmotion."
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Tom Daley and Matty Lee were looked only too happy to bite their gold medals
Image credit: Getty Images
Are Olympic gold medals made of real gold?
As stated above, this year's medals are made from material recycled from electronic devices donated by the people of Japan.
However, Olympic gold medals are required to be made from at least 92.5% silver, and must contain a minimum of six grams of gold.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medals contain more than six grams of gold plating on pure silver.
Silver medals are pure silver while bronze medals are red brass (95% copper and 5% zinc).
The Olympic gold medals at Tokyo 2020 weigh roughly 556g, with silver weighing 550g and bronze 450g.
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