The Summer Olympics continued into its second week over the weekend as athletes competed in multiple sporting events with the hopes of winning a medal.
Being awarded the gold medal means an athlete is the best in competition in a particular event. As millions of spectators tuned in to watch the world’s greatest athletes compete for gold medals in various sports, many might be surprised to find that the gold medals awarded at the Olympics are mostly made of silver.
The gold medal is at least 92.5% silver, according to International Olympic Committee regulations. Each medal then receives a gold plate containing at least 6 grams of gold. Incidentally, silver medals, the award for second place in competitions, are also 92.5% silver, according to multiple reports. Bronze medals are made from a metallic mixture containing 95% copper and 5% zinc.
A representative from the IOC revealed the facts about the metals in the medals during an interview with Newsweek in 2021.
“The medals for first and second places shall be of silver of at least 925-1000 grade,” the representative said. “The medal for first place shall be gilded with at least 6 grams of pure gold.”
This year’s medals will also continue the tradition of having a unique feature that connects them to the city that hosts them.
In 2024, each medal has a piece of iron from the original Eiffel Tower incorporated into its composition. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the medals were partially made out of recycled electronic devices from Japan.
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“Having a gold medal is already something incredible. But we wanted to add this French touch, and we thought that the Eiffel Tower would be this cherry on top,” said Joachim Roncin, head of design for this year’s Olympic Games at the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee.
“Having a piece of it is a piece of history,” Roncin said.
