Olympic medal
The olive wreath was the prize for the winner at the Ancient Olympic Games. It was an olive branch, off the wild-olive tree that grew at Olympia. Theophrastus wrote about this wild-olive in his Enquiry into Plants. Pausanias described how Heracles introduced it as a prize for the running race to honour Zeus. When the modern Olympic Games began in 1896 medals started to be given to successful olympian competitors. Gold medals were not awarded at the inaugural Olympics in Athens, Greece. Winners received a silver medal and an olive branch instead. Runners-up got a laurel branch and a copper or bronze medal. Pierre de Coubertin and others documented these early distributions in their 1897 publication. The King presented each winner with a bronze medal and a laurel branch during the ceremony.
The custom of the sequence of gold, silver, and bronze for the first three places dates from the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. The International Olympic Committee has retroactively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to the three best-placed athletes in each event of the 1896 and 1900 Games. The 1900 Summer Olympics is unique as the only Olympic Games to feature rectangular medals. Gilt silver medals were awarded for first place in shooting, lifesaving, automobile racing and gymnastics. Second place silver medals were awarded in shooting, rowing, yachting, tennis, gymnastics, sabre, fencing, equestrian and athletics. Third place bronze medals were awarded in gymnastics, firefighting and shooting. In many sports however, medals were not awarded. Most of the listed prizes being cups and other trophies. If there is a tie for any of the top three places all competitors are entitled to receive the appropriate medal according to IOC rules. Some combat sports such as boxing, judo, taekwondo and wrestling award two bronze medals per competition.
The fine art of victory involves strict physical properties dictated by the IOC. Specifications for the medals are developed along with the National Olympic Committee hosting the Games. A minimum diameter of 60 mm and thickness of 3 mm are required for standard medals. First place medals are composed at least 92.5% of silver plated with 6 grams of gold. The metal value was about US$494 in 2010. At the 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, the medal at then-current prices was worth about $800. Second place medals contain 92.5% silver. The metal value was about US$260 in 2010. At the Tokyo games, the medal was worth $460. Third place medals in 2010 were 97% copper with 0.5% tin and 2.5% zinc. The metal value was about US$3 in 2010. At the Tokyo games it was 95% copper and 5% zinc with a metal value of about $5. Event details must be written on the medal.
The first Olympic medals in 1896 were designed by French sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain. They depicted Zeus holding Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, on the obverse and the Acropolis on the reverse. The Paris Mint made these medals for both the 1896 and 1900 Olympic Games. This started the tradition of giving responsibility to the host city. Until 1912 gold medals were made of solid gold. In 1923 the International Olympic Committee launched a competition for sculptors to design the medals for the Summer Olympic Games. Giuseppe Cassioli's Trionfo design was chosen as the winner in 1928. His winning design featured Nike holding a winner's crown and palm with a depiction of the Colosseum in the background. The medals for the 1960 Games in Rome inverted the design. The competition saw this design used for 40 years until the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich became the first Games with a different design for the reverse side. After 76 years a new style by designer Elena Votsi depicting the Panathenaic Stadium was introduced at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
There has been a greater variety of design applications for the Winter Games compared to the Summer Games. The IOC never mandated one particular design for winter events. The medal at the inaugural 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France did not even feature the Olympic rings. One regular motif is the use of the snowflake while laurel leaves and crowns appear on several designs. For three events in a row hosts of the Winter Games included different materials in the medals. Glass appeared in 1992, sparagmite in 1994, and lacquer in 1998. It was not until the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing that a Summer host chose to use something different like jade. Shapes of the Winter Games have been considerably more varied than circular summer designs. Designs for the Winter Games medals are generally larger, thicker, and heavier than those for the Summer Games. Square shapes with rounded wavy lines appeared in Sapporo 1972 while irregular circles resembling river rocks were used in Salt Lake City 2002.
The presentation of the medals and awards varied significantly until the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles brought in what has now become standard. Before 1932 all the medals were awarded at the closing ceremony with athletes wearing evening dress for the first few Games. The victory podium was introduced upon the personal instruction in 1931 of Henri de Baillet-Latour. He had seen one used at the 1930 British Empire Games. The winner is in the middle at a higher elevation with silver medallist to their right and bronze to their left. At the 1960 Summer Olympics competitors in the Stadio Olimpico received their medals immediately after each event for the first time. Later Games have had a victory podium at each competition venue. The 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome were the first in which medals were placed around the neck of the athletes. Medals hung from a chain of laurel leaves before switching to coloured ribbons. In 2004 Athens hosted the games where competitors on the podium also received an olive wreath crown. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City the medals plaza was popularized as a way for the public to see presentations.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
What prize did winners receive at the Ancient Olympic Games?
Winners received an olive wreath made from a branch of the wild-olive tree that grew at Olympia. Theophrastus wrote about this wild-olive in his Enquiry into Plants and Pausanias described how Heracles introduced it as a prize for the running race to honour Zeus.
When did gold medals first appear at the modern Olympics?
Gold medals were not awarded at the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece where winners received silver medals and olive branches instead. The custom of awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals for the top three places dates from the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri.
How much are Olympic medals worth in metal value today?
At the 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, the gold medal was worth about $800 while the silver medal was worth $460. Third place medals in 2010 had a metal value of about US$3 but increased to approximately $5 by the time of the Tokyo games due to material composition changes.
Who designed the first Olympic medals in 1896?
The first Olympic medals in 1896 were designed by French sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain who depicted Zeus holding Nike on the obverse and the Acropolis on the reverse. The Paris Mint made these medals for both the 1896 and 1900 Olympic Games before Giuseppe Cassioli's Trionfo design won a competition launched by the International Olympic Committee in 1923.
What makes Winter Olympic medals different from Summer Olympic medals?
Designs for the Winter Games medals are generally larger, thicker, and heavier than those for the Summer Games with square shapes or irregular circles appearing in events like Sapporo 1972 and Salt Lake City 2002. Glass appeared in 1992, sparagmite in 1994, and lacquer in 1998 as hosts included different materials while the inaugural 1924 Winter Olympics medal did not even feature the Olympic rings.