Speaking of Olympic gold medals, we often see a scene where athletes who have won gold medals bit the gold medal with their teeth after the award. So why do champions like to bite the gold medal with their teeth? Let’s take a closer look.
About the origin of biting the gold medal
The first time an athlete was photographed biting a gold medal can be traced back to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. At that time, a US swimmer who won the gold medal was very excited to put the gold medal in his mouth to celebrate his victory. This move was successfully captured by the photographer. After that, the action of “biting the gold medal” was gradually imitated by more athletes until it became a common phenomenon.
Why do champions like to bite the gold medal?
Regarding the reasons for “biting the gold medal”, there have been the following speculations so far:
(1) Used to detect gold content
In ancient times, there was a lack of testing equipment. In order to test the authenticity of gold coins, people often used their teeth to bite.
Because gold is particularly tough and malleable, when people bite with their teeth, they have a faint bite mark, which is regarded as real gold.
But in the history of the Olympics, there were only two gold medals made of pure gold in the London Olympics in 1908 and the Stockholm Olympics in Sweden in 1912.
After that, almost all the Olympic medal production standards stipulated by the International Olympic Committee were used:
In appearance, the diameter is at least about 6cm and the thickness is at least about 3mm. In terms of composition, the purity of the gold medal is at least 92.5% silver, and the surface is gold-plated at least 6 grams. The alloy material increases the hardness of the gold medal, even if the athlete uses his teeth to bite, it will not leave marks and deformation.
Therefore, this guess is not realistic.
(2) Required by the photographer
When an athlete wins a gold medal, it is an honor for both individuals and the country, and it receives worldwide attention.
Photographers will do their best to take satisfactory photos. Naturally, they want to take the gold medal and the championship in the same frame. If they hold the gold medal, they will look high-profile and deliberate.
Later, the photographer discovered that when the Olympic champions bite the gold medals, the corners of their mouths would not help but be raised, naturally showing a happy look, and the athletes’ faces and medals would be noticed by the audience at the same time.
Some people speculate that in order to take a satisfactory photo, the action of “biting the gold medal” is regarded as a standard action for taking pictures.
Therefore, when the Olympic champions win the prize, the photographers will aim at the Olympic athletes and keep asking for gold medals, and at this time they will take satisfactory photos. Over time, this action has become a standard photographing action for Olympic athletes.
(3) To show emotion
Athletes who want to stand in the Olympics are not only required to have a certain sports talent, but also to persevere in training. The Olympic Games is a stage for testing results, and the gold medal is undoubtedly the best feedback on training results.
Therefore, “biting the gold medal” is a manifestation of the excitement and joy in the athlete’s heart.
Some psychologists said that feelings can be derived from the sensory experience of “biting the gold medal”, that is, the so-called “taste of a champion.”
In addition, from the perspective of psychology, the first psychological stage of a person is defined as the “lip period”. And the mental relaxation after a high concentration of mental state on the field can return people’s instinctive attributes. “Biting the gold medal” can establish a connection between achieved achievements and emotions.
It has been reported that when David Mailer, an outstanding German bobsled athlete, won the fourth World Championship championship, he bit his teeth too hard because he bit the gold medal too hard. However, in a later interview, he said: “I didn’t feel any pain. It just feels that the tooth is broken, and then I quickly closed my mouth so that no one can see that the tooth is missing.” It can be seen that this hypothesis of emotion theory has been strongly supported.
About the Tokyo Olympic gold medals
Sun Yiwen, who won the women’s epee gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, also bit the gold medal after the award.
Different from the past, the materials used for the medals used in the Tokyo Olympics almost all come from “electronic waste”, that is, the effective recycling of metals in scrap small household appliances, and then use them in the production of medals.
It is reported that the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee has successfully collected more than 70,000 tons of used small appliances and more than 6 million mobile phones in more than two years, enhancing the public’s sense of participation in the Olympic Games, and effectively carrying out the second time of resources. use. The nearly 32 kilograms of pure gold, 3,500 kilograms of pure silver and 2,200 kilograms of pure copper extracted from it satisfy the materials needed for Olympic medals.
The Olympic Games is originally a competitive sport
Winning or losing is normal
There is no such thing as a “fixed gold medal”
The game continues
Chinese team, come on!