Why do olympians bite their medals

Overview

The practice of athletes biting their Olympic medals has become one of the most recognizable traditions in sports photography, though its origins are often misunderstood. Contrary to popular belief, modern Olympians don't bite medals to test their authenticity - they do it almost exclusively for the cameras. The tradition traces back to ancient times when merchants would bite gold coins to verify their purity, as real gold is softer than most counterfeit metals and would show tooth marks. This historical practice evolved into a symbolic gesture in sports. The modern Olympic version gained prominence during the 1984 Los Angeles Games when photographers, seeking dramatic shots, began asking athletes to bite their medals. Since then, it has become a standard pose in victory photography, with athletes from Michael Phelps to Simone Biles participating in the tradition. The International Olympic Committee has never officially endorsed or discouraged the practice, allowing it to remain an organic part of celebration culture.

How It Works

The medal-biting tradition works on multiple levels: as photographic theater, symbolic gesture, and cultural ritual. When photographers request the bite pose, they're creating a visually compelling image that conveys achievement and celebration. The act itself serves as a symbolic connection to historical practices of verifying precious metals, even though modern Olympic medals contain minimal precious metals. For gold medals, the IOC requires only 6 grams of gold plating on silver, making them primarily silver (92.5% pure) with a thin gold coating. The biting gesture doesn't actually test anything meaningful about the medal's composition. Instead, it functions as a ritualized performance that athletes and media have mutually agreed upon as part of victory celebration protocol. The practice has become so ingrained that many athletes now do it instinctively upon receiving their medals, often with exaggerated expressions for maximum photographic impact.

Why It Matters

This seemingly simple gesture matters because it represents the intersection of athletic achievement, media representation, and cultural tradition. For athletes, biting the medal serves as a tangible connection to their accomplishment - a physical interaction with the symbol of their years of training. For the media, it provides consistent, recognizable imagery that audiences immediately associate with Olympic victory. The tradition also connects modern sports to historical practices, creating continuity between ancient and contemporary celebrations of excellence. While some critics argue the practice is clichéd or unsanitary (especially post-COVID-19), it remains popular because it effectively communicates joy and achievement in a universally understood visual language. The gesture has become part of Olympic iconography, appearing in countless photographs, news reports, and social media posts that define how we remember Olympic moments.