Interesting Facts About Gold Medal

Gold medal, this is something we all are fascinated with. The gold medal is awarded for the highest achievement in a non-military field. It uses at least a fraction of gold in the form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, they have been awarded in the arts field. Gold medals for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts represent an award that gives outstanding students some financial independence. Nowadays, some organizations award gold medals annually or extraordinarily, including various academic societies. Here are some of the amazing facts about the gold medal.

Interesting facts about Gold medal

First gold medal

• It was the year 1904 when for the first time, gold medals were awarded to Olympic champions in St. Louis, USA. However, before this, gold medals were considered to be highly expensive. But you will be surprised to know that during that time the winners were given silver medals instead of gold.
• The winners were awarded silver medals and the runner-up with bronze, and there was no place for the third position. So the last time when a gold medal was actually made up of gold  was in the Stockholm Games in 1912. Traditionally, gold medals must be made from at least 92.5% silver and contain a minimum of 6 grams of gold.

Costly – So, we all know that gold will be quite expensive. So we often get curious to know whether the gold medal costs the same or not. To justify it, here is an example set by McDonald’s.

• It was the year 1984 when McDonald’s ran a campaign that gave a chance to the customers to win a free Big Mac every time the U.S. won any medal. 
• You will be shocked to know that, in 1984 U.S won 83 gold medals, which made a huge profit for McDonald’s. It generated a profit of some million dollars. I bet you that you were completely unaware of this mind-blowing fact of McDonald’s.

Value of Gold medal – So, a question arises, if the gold medal is valuable in terms of an economic point of view or not. Well, yes, it is valuable. You must have heard about the famous Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko. Wladimir Klitschko auctioned his gold medal to a Children’s charity in 1996. You will be surprised to know the price of it. A man purchased it for $1 million. I know you are surprised!! However, the Nobel man returned the medal out of respect for Wladimir Klitschko and his family.

Perks of Gold medal

• Apart from names and proud moments for the country, there are several other  perks of a gold medal. It will provide you with security and provide a sort of job opportunity in future by the government. Gold and other medals have wildly different perks in different nations. Let’s take the example of South Korea. Anyone who wins a medal in the Olympics/becomes exempt from the country’s mandatory two-year military service for males aged 18 to 35. 
• In India, you will be provided many job opportunities like Neeraj Chopra was offered. 

Art Competitors

• Art competitions formed a part of the Olympics for decades. They were held at the Olympics 1912 – 1948. The competition winners were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals, similar to the winners of all other athletic competitions. Generally, it was permitted for the artists to enter multiple works/categories, although a maximum number was sometimes established. This allowed them to win multiple prizes in a single competition.
• There were five art categories – painting, literature, music, sculpture, and architecture. As medals were awarded in five categories, the competition was named the ‘Pentathlon of the Muses.’ They were introduced in the 1912 Olympics and remained official events until 1948. Sale Tyne, Mahonri Young, Walter Winans, and Jean Jacoby were some notable medalists in the Olympics. 
• Few games were very tough for the competitors. So the committee decided to remove that from the competition looking into the safety of the gamers. They were abandoned as the artists were considered professionals while the Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs.

Most no. Of Gold medals – The country holds the most no. of Gold medals. Well, it’s America. No nation approaches Team U.S.A because combinedly, summer and winter Olympics medals constitute 2,681 gold, silver, and bronze. Followed by the Soviet Union with 1,204 medals and then Great Britain with 806 medals.

Worth their weight in gold

• The option is up to you who will be respected. A person with a huge amount of financial stability or who brought laurels to your country.  You will choose your country if you believe in humanity, love, and patriotism. 
• The person with the highest no. of gold medals is the actual gem of any country. Swimmer Michael Phelps holds the all-time medal record for the gold medal. Larisa Latiyana, a former gymnast of Soviet, holds the highest no. of gold medals, with nine records.

Hidden meaning

• Anything that happens in this world always has a hidden meaning. So, we must know the significance of Gold, silver, and Bronze medals. You must have some  link to mythology.  They symbolize power, strength, and confidence.  Well, it is said that Gold, silver, and bronze medals represent three of the five ages of man in Greek mythology. 
• The Gold represents the golden age, and The golden is the age when man and gods lived with harmony and peace. 
• The silver medal represents the silver age, man straying from righteousness, and finally, Bronze, which represents the bronze age, which marks the period of war and violence. As per Greek mythology, we all are living in the Iron age. So you must be thinking about the iron medal, well it also has some significance. 

Before gold !! – When the first modern Olympics was held, there were no gold medals. The winners received a silver medal as first prize and the runners bronze. However, in the 1900 Paris Games, the winner received valuable paintings and works of art rather than a gold medal.

Medals aren’t the only trophies for winners. – Those athlets who secured there position from rank 1 to 8  will be able to get an honour like Olympic diploma. Since the beginning of the modern Olympics, athletes, support staff, event officials, and certain volunteers involved in planning and managing the Games have received commemorative medals and diplomas.

Big error :  – Yes, there was a big error in the gold medal of the Olympics. For 76 years, the Olympics medals were embellished with a big error. In 1928, the front of the gold medal showed an image of the Roman Colosseum even though the Olympics was of Greek origin. However, this blunder was rectified in 2004 and replaced with Athens’ Panathenaic Stadium.

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