Silver medal facts for kids
A silver medal is a special award given to athletes or participants who finish in second place. You often see them in big sports events like the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games. Usually, the winner gets a gold medal, and the third-place finisher receives a bronze medal.
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Silver Medals in the Olympics
The way Olympic medals are given has changed over time. In the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, the winners actually received silver medals. The second-place finishers got bronze medals.
The tradition we know today, where gold is for first, silver for second, and bronze for third, started at the 1904 games. Many other sports events around the world have copied this system.
Designing Olympic Medals
The city that hosts the Olympic Games is responsible for designing and making the medals. For many years, from 1928 to 1968, the medals had the same design on one side. This design was created by an artist named Giuseppe Cassioli. It showed an Olympic champion and also included the name of the host city.
From 1972 to 2000, Cassioli's design was still used on one side, but the host city could create their own unique design for the other side. However, Cassioli's design showed a Roman amphitheater, which didn't quite fit with the original Greek history of the Olympics. Because of this, a brand new design was made for the Athens 2004 Games.
Medals for the Winter Olympics have always had more different designs compared to the Summer Games.
The Open Championship Silver Medal
In the sport of golf, there's a very famous tournament called The Open Championship. In this event, a special Silver Medal is given out. This award goes to the amateur player who has the lowest score in the tournament. An amateur player is someone who plays for fun and not as a paid professional.
See also
In Spanish: Medalla de plata para niños
