Gold medals of the Olympics: all about the highest award of the Olympic sport

Olympic medal ... What athlete does not dream about this priceless award? The gold medals of the Olympics are something that the champions of all times and nations cherish with special care. How else, because it is not only the pride and glory of the athlete himself, but also the world heritage. This is history. Would you like to know what the gold Olympic medal consists of? Is it pure gold?

From the history of the Olympic Games

An interesting fact is that in the Olympic Games of Antiquity the winners were not awarded medals. In ancient Greece, from the time of the first Olympiad in 776 BC, the wreaths of wild olives were used as attributes of victory, which were awarded to the champions on the last day of the competitions in the temple of Zeus. Ancient Greek playwright named Aristophanes even joked about this in his play "Plutus", which he wrote in 408 BC. He argued that Zeus is clearly a poor god, otherwise he would give his Olympians not wreaths of branches, but gold. Various material prizes, values became a 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 the 293 Olympiad, a lot of prizes were given to the champions, thousands of gold coins were paid, but not a single medal was given.

The emergence of the main Olympic award

The decision to use the 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 was prescribed the basic rules and principles for awarding winners. The statutory document of the Olympic movement, developed at that time, was called the Olympic Charter.

This document described the basic principle of awarding the Olympic champions - it was decided to give medals to the athletes depending on the places occupied. The third place was awarded with a bronze medal, the silver medal (925 test) relied on the second place , and the silver medal of the same sample, but covered with pure gold, was awarded to the winner. The diameter of the medals should be about sixty millimeters, and the thickness - three. Since that time, the sizes and even the shape of the medals have changed more than once.

For a long time, the medal was awarded to the winner of the competition directly in hand. And in 1960 for the Olympic Games in Rome were made thin chains of bronze and attached to medals. Interesting is the fact that the organizers, along with the medals, were handed to the girls who took them out, also scissors. So they decided to insure themselves in case there were objections. The chain could be quickly cut off and the award handed directly to the athlete. But the innovation was liked by all and since then the Olympic medals hang the winners around the neck.

Modern medals

It is known that bronze and silver in comparison with gold metals are inexpensive. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the name of 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 (depends on the size). The silver medal for 93% consists of sterling silver and 7% of copper. The cost of a silver medal can vary from 200 to 500 dollars.

And what does the gold Olympic medal consist of? Is it pure gold? The answer, it would seem, is obvious - yes, from gold, because the titanic work of athletes should be appreciated, for this and gold it is not a pity. But, as was confirmed in the Olympic Charter of 1894, gold medals are also made of silver of 925 tests. The composition of the gold medal of the Olympics is the same as the composition of the silver. The only thing that distinguishes these two awards is the application of a gold medal to six grams of pure gold. How much is the gold medal for the Olympics? Its price is about 1000-1200 dollars.

Gold Gold

In the history of the Olympic Games there was a period when the highest awards were made of pure gold. For the first time medals, 100% gold, were awarded to the champions in 1904 at the Olympics in Stockholm. Athletes two more Olympics - 1908 and 1912 - received such awards, and the next winner was awarded a silver medal, covered with six grams of gold.

This decision was made, most likely, for economic reasons. The country that hosts athletes from around the world at the Olympics, bears enormous costs for its organization. The number of participants in the competitions, sports, and, consequently, the number of awards each time increased, so saving on making medals is a reasonable move. In addition, the prestige of the Olympic Games has grown, and therefore the actual value of the medals has exceeded the cost of the metals included in them several times. Now the gold medals of the Olympics are not just a reward, it is a guarantee for the athlete to perpetuate his name, this is a great pride and glory.

The fate of some medals

The bulk of the champions who received the Olympic medal, keeps it as a family heirloom, passes by inheritance. But there are times when athletes decide to sell a medal at an auction.

For example, Mark Wells, a member of the US hockey team, acted. In 1980, all the players of this team received gold medals of the Olympics. Mark sold his auction at the 2012 auction for 310 700 dollars. He spent the money he spent on life-saving treatment.

But not all athletes manage to realize their awards so much. Anthony Erwin, 2000 World Champion in swimming at 50 meters freestyle, decided to earn money for his gold medal to give victims of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. But it was sold for only $ 17,100. And John Conrads, world champion in the 1960s swimming at 1500 meters freestyle, sold his medal in 2011 for 11250 dollars.

Awards in Sochi-2014

We have already examined what the gold Olympic medal consists of. Its composition, like the form, is regulated by international laws. But the design is developed by the country that hosts the Olympics, coordinating it with the International Olympic Committee. What was the gold medal of the 2014 Olympics that was held in Sochi? What did the silver and bronze awards look like? Many are also interested in how many gold medals were played at the Olympics. Let's talk about this further.

Appearance of the medals of the 2014 Olympics

A large number of people took part in the design of the highest sport award for the 2014 Olympics. The President of Russia Vladimir Putin was involved in this process. For the first time the result of the creators' work was presented to the world on May 30, 2013.

The obverse of the Olympic medal in 2014 depicts the symbol of the Olympics - five rings, and on the back there is the 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 demonstrates well what this award looks like.

Total costs

The bronze, silver and gold medals of the 2014 Olympics were produced at the Adamas jewelry factory, one of the country's leading jewelry enterprises. The highest Olympic awards were held in 25 stages of production. It was estimated that about 20 working hours were spent on making one medal, so it is difficult to name this process.

A total of 1,254 medals were produced for international competitions in Sochi. Spent for this three kilograms of gold, two tons of silver, seven hundred kilograms of bronze. Awards were made more 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 stock. Unclaimed awards of the Olympics-2014 were transferred to the museums of the country.