It’s seen in every image of olympic winners proudly displaying their medal by biting them. It’s been an iconic symbol of the Olympics. Top athletes like Michael Phelps (Former American Competitive Swimmer), Usain Bolt (Retired Jamaican Sprinter) and Simone Biles (American Artistic Gymnast) and many more playfully pretending to chomp on their medals.

While standing on the podium, often captured in the iconic pictures, why the Olympic winners bite their medals? What is the significance behind this unique tradition? Let us explore the reason behind this practice. 

Is Biting Medal practiced for Purity Check? 

The traders used to bite or chomp gold to verify its purity and authenticity when gold was used in the form of currency in previous times. As being a soft metal and malleable, gold shows sign of denting if it’s under slight pressure like biting and leaving a mark on it.

However, it is now clear that modern Olympic champions are not testing the purity of medal when they pose for the pictures by biting it. International Olympic Committee (IOC) stopped awarding pure gold medals in 1921.

The real reason behind Biting Medals? 

The real reason behind the athletes biting their medal are the Olympic photographers who asked the winners to do so. The President of the International Society of Olympic Historians, David Wallechinsky explained the reason behind biting the medals. He said, “It’s become an obsession with the photographers”.  

He added that the photographers believe the medal-biting pose is iconic. It can potentially make it to the front page of next day’s newspaper. Wallechinsky mentioned that the athletes probably do it on photographers’ requests. 

A Risky Pose? 

German Luger David Moeller who bit the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics accidentally chipped his tooth while striking a pose with his medal. According to Moeller, photographers requested him to perform a unique pose of holding the medal only with his teeth. Later, during the dinner time, Moeller noticed a portion of his tooth was missing. 

Athletes biting their medals has become a customary practice at the Olympics that symbolizes a personal connection to their achievement.

The tradition of biting medals originated from a historical practice of checking the authenticity of gold back in California Gold Rush in the 1800s. 

The tradition of biting of Olympic medals has its origin in historical customs and now practiced in modern times. The original biting of gold was to test authenticity. Today, it is used for good photographs and iconic poses capturing the joy and triumph of Olympic victory.