Olympic medal facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Olympic medals
A silver medal awarded to the winner of an event at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
Presented by	International Olympic Committee
Website	c.org

An Olympic medal is a special award given to athletes who do very well at the Olympic Games. There are three types of medals:

Gold medal: Given to the winner.
Silver medal: Given to the athlete who comes in second place.
Bronze medal: Given to the athlete who finishes third.

The rules for giving out these awards are very detailed. They are set by the Olympic organizers.

The look of Olympic medals has changed a lot since the first Games in 1896. For the Summer Olympic Games, a common design was used from 1928 until 2004. This design showed the Roman Colosseum. However, people thought it should show something from Greece, where the Olympics began. So, a new design was made for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Medals for the Winter Olympic Games have always had different designs. They often feature snowflakes or show the sport where the medal was won.

Some countries give money or gifts to their athletes who win medals. The amount depends on the type and number of medals won.

Medal counts are used to rank countries in medal tables. These tables can be for one sport, one Olympic Games, or for all time. When a team wins, like in a relay race, it counts as one gold medal for the country. But each team member still gets their own physical medal.

History of Olympic Medals
- Ancient Games and Early Modern Awards
How Medals Are Made and Designed
Participation Medals
Gallery
How Medals Are Presented
See also

History of Olympic Medals

Ancient Games and Early Modern Awards

In the Ancient Olympic Games, winners received an olive wreath. This was a branch from a wild olive tree. It was shaped into a circle or horseshoe. This tradition was started by Heracles to honor Zeus.

When the modern Olympic Games started in 1896, medals became the prize. But at the first Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896, there were no gold medals. Winners got a silver medal and an olive branch. Second-place athletes received a laurel branch and a copper or bronze medal. In 1900, many winners got cups or trophies instead of medals.

The idea of giving gold, silver, and bronze for the top three places began at the 1904 Summer Olympics. This happened in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided that the 1896 and 1900 Games should also have gold, silver, and bronze winners.

If athletes tie for a top-three spot, they all get the correct medal. In some sports, like boxing or judo, two bronze medals are given out. This means more bronze medals are awarded overall.

Besides medals, athletes who finish in the top eight get an Olympic diploma. The names of all medal winners are also written on a wall at the main host stadium. All athletes also receive a participation medal and diploma.

How Medals Are Made and Designed

A collection of medals won by Polish athletes, at the Museum of Sport and Tourism in Warsaw.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decides how the medals should look and what they should be made of. They work with the host city's Olympic Committee. Here are some of the rules:

Who gets them: The top three athletes in each event.
Shape: Usually round, with a loop for a chain or ribbon.
Size: At least 60 millimeters (about 2.4 inches) across.
Thickness: At least 3 millimeters (about 0.12 inches) thick.
Materials:
- Gold medal: Mostly silver (at least 92.5%), covered with 6 grams of pure gold.
- Silver medal: At least 92.5% silver.
- Bronze medal: Mostly copper (92.5%), with a little tin and zinc.
Details: The medal must say which sport it was awarded for.

The first Olympic medals in 1896 were designed by French artist Jules-Clément Chaplain. They showed Zeus holding Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, on the front. The Acropolis was on the back. The Paris Mint made these medals. This started the tradition of the host city making the medals. Until 1912, gold medals were made of solid gold.

The Trionfo Design

The bronze medal from the 1980 Summer Olympics showing Cassioli's design of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

In 1923, the IOC held a competition for artists to design the Summer Olympic Games medals. Giuseppe Cassioli's design, called Trionfo, won in 1928. The front of this medal showed Nike, the goddess of victory, holding a winner's crown. The Roman Colosseum was in the background. There was also a space for the host city's name. The back showed a crowd of people celebrating a winning athlete.

This design was first used at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. It was used for 40 years. The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich was the first Games to have a different design on the back of the medal.

Cassioli's design for the front of the medal was used for many more years. It was updated with the host city's name and the Games number. This design was used until the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. After that, the IOC allowed new versions of the Nike design.

This long-standing design changed after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The original design for the 2000 medal showed the Sydney Opera House. But the IOC wanted the traditional Roman Colosseum. Greek people criticized this, saying it was wrong to use a Roman building when the Olympics started in Greece. They thought it should be the Greek Parthenon. The Sydney organizers kept the design because there wasn't enough time or money to change it. This mistake had been on the medals for 76 years! A new design showing the Panathenaic Stadium was introduced at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This new front design is still used today.

Unique Back Designs

The German Olympic Committee was the first to change the back of the Summer Games medal. For the 1972 Games, artist Gerhard Marcks designed the back to show the mythological twins Castor and Pollux. Since then, the host city's organizing committee can design the back of the medal. The IOC still has to approve the final design.

Medals from Recycled Electronics

In 2017, the Tokyo Olympic Committee asked people in Japan to donate old electronics. Things like mobile phones were collected to get materials for the medals. They wanted to collect eight tons of metal to make medals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Collection boxes were set up in public places.

On July 24, 2019, the medal designs were shown. Junichi Kawanishi designed them after a country-wide competition. A new feature for the Paralympic medals is that the ribbons have raised lines. One line means gold, two lines mean silver, and three lines mean bronze. This helps athletes who are visually impaired.

Comparing Summer and Winter Medals

The IOC makes the final decisions for all Olympic medals. This includes the Summer, Winter, and Paralympic Games. Winter Games medals have had more different designs. The IOC never made one design mandatory for them. The first 1924 Winter Olympics medal didn't even have the Olympic rings. Nike, the goddess of victory, appeared on some early Winter medals but rarely since. Snowflakes are a common design on Winter medals.

The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) is on four Winter Games medals. But it is not on any Summer Games medals.

For three Winter Games in a row, hosts used different materials in their medals. These included glass (1992), sparagmite (1994), and lacquer (1998). It wasn't until the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, that a Summer host used a different material, which was jade.

While almost all Summer Olympic medals have been round, Winter Games medals have come in many shapes. Winter Games medals are also usually bigger, thicker, and heavier than Summer Games medals.

Participation Medals

Since the start of the modern Olympics, everyone involved gets a special medal. This includes athletes, their coaches, event officials, and some volunteers. These are called commemorative medals and diplomas. Like the winners' medals, their designs change for each Olympic Games. There are different ones for the Summer and Winter Games.

Gallery

Reverse of the plaque from the 1900 Olympic Games in France
James Graves wearing a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the last version of the Trionfo design
Vincent Hancock with his gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the heaviest Summer Olympics medal prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics

How Medals Are Presented

Jim Thorpe receives his medal at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

The way medals are given out has changed a lot. The system we know today started at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Before 1932, all medals were given at the closing ceremony. Athletes even wore fancy evening clothes for the first few Games.

At first, the important person giving the medals stood still. The athletes walked past to get their awards. The victory podium was first used in 1931. The winner stands in the middle, higher than the others. The silver medalist is to their right, and the bronze medalist is to their left.

At the 1932 Winter Olympics, medals were given at the closing ceremony. Athletes for each event came up onto the first-ever podium. At the Summer Olympics that year, athletes in the main stadium got their medals right after their event. Athletes from other places came to the stadium the next day. Now, every competition venue has its own victory podium.

The 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, were the first where medals were placed around the athletes' necks. The medals hung from a chain of laurel leaves. Now, they hang from a colored ribbon. When Athens hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, athletes on the podium also received an olive wreath crown. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, each medalist received a small wooden statue of the Olympic logo.