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Olympic athletes biting their medals, explained: Origins, meaning and real reason for odd tradition originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
JUMP TO:
- Why do Olympic athletes bit their medals?
- Who started the biting medals tradition?
- When did biting Olympic medals become popular?
- Risks of biting Olympic medals
- Do Olympic athletes still bite their medals today?
Olympic competitions are filled with iconic images. The Olympic rings are arguably the most well-known logo in sports, while the Olympic torch dances in the minds of those who have witnessed its glow.
Still, few snapshots linger quite like the sight of an Olympic athlete biting down on their medal. Sport's finest talents have become enchanted by the gesture, putting their veneers in harm's way in the hopes of mimicking their forebears.
The gestures is certainly contrived. It follows medal events like a shadow, taking shape whenever an Olympic medalist's national anthem spills from stadium speakers.
And yet, the image continues to persist decades after its inception. It's not the most creative of customs. But it remains a steadfast part of the Olympic calendar, sandwiched somewhere draping oneself in their national banner and softly crying as the sensation of accomplishing one's Olympic dream sinks in.
So, just how did the tradition of athletes chowing down on their medals start? Here's what you need to know.
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Why do Olympic athletes bit their medals?
The simplest answer for why Olympic medalists bite their medals is because it looks cool in photographs. Photographers often call on athletes to take a chomp out their medallions as they stand on the podium, according to International Society of Olympic Historians president David Wallchensky.
“It’s become an obsession with the photographers,” Wallchensky told CNN in 2012. “I think they look at it as an iconic shot, as something that you can probably sell. I don’t think it’s something the athletes would probably do on their own.”
History is partly to blame for the gesture. Olympic gold medals used to consist of pure gold, serving as a boon for athletes during the early 1900s when the gold standard reigned international monetary policy. To test the authenticity of gold coins, traders would bite into their surfaces. Gold is rather soft compared to other precious metals, denting and leaving a mark under duress.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stopped handing out pure gold medals in 1912, instead awarding silver medals plated with a gold finish. It seems the process of biting the prize hasn't gone away in the century since, however.
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Who started the biting medals tradition?
It's unclear who was the first athlete to start biting medals. The custom has ostensibly been a part of the Olympics for more than a century, so it's hard to pinpoint quite who decided to sink their canines into the ornament first.
According to The Daily Mail, some believe the tradition was ushered in by Great Britain's 1991 gold-medal-winning 4x400m relay team in the 1991 World Championships. Whether that's true or not is anyone's guess. Nevertheless, the tradition has taken off in the decades since its rumored start-point.
When was the first time an Olympian bit their medal?
Once again, it's hard to tell exactly who was the first Olympian to chomp down on their necklace. By the 1994 Winter Olympics, the gold medal was a part of Olympic medalists' diet.
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When did biting Olympic medals become popular?
While the tradition of biting into Olympic medals featured prominently in post-event celebrations throughout the 1990s, it seems the custom reached its peak during the 21st century. Perhaps that was due to the proliferation of cameras fixed on the perimeter of the podium or the increased number of sports that receive Olympic billing — there were 48 sports contested across the 2024 Summer Olympics and 2026 Winter Olympics, translating to 445 possible medal events. By comparison, the 1912 Summer Olympics and 1924 Winter Olympics featured 105 and 16 medal events, respectively.
With social media offering more opportunities for athletes to embrace the camera, it's clear that the tradition of Olympians biting their medals isn't going away any time soon.
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Do Olympic athletes bite silver medals too?
Some might consider it heresy for Olympians to attempt to consume silver or bronze medals. Photographers often don't, though. Silver and bronze medalists often put their fangs at risk, chewing on their medallions as they dangle from their neck. Take former U.S. Olympian Maya DiRado, who bit down on her bronze medal after finishing third in 200m individual medley at the 2016 Summer Olympics:
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Ultimately, there's no one-size-fit-all approach to putting tusks on one's medals. Some reserve the practice for gold, while others will do the gesture with silver and bronze.
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Risks of biting Olympic medals
Olympic gold and silver medals are made of at least 92.5% silver, with gold featuring a minimum of six grams of gold. Bronze medals, meanwhile, are composed of 90% copper alloy and 10% zinc. In other words, they're quite hard, making them dangerous — especially when placed in one's mouth.
German luger David Moeller learned that the hard-way following a silver-medal showing at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Moeller cracked his tooth while attempting to mimic the iconic pose for a photograph.
“The photographers wanted a picture of me holding the medal just with my teeth,” Moeller said, according to Olympics.com. “Later at dinner, I noticed a bit of one of my teeth was missing.”
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Are Olympic medals damaged when athletes bite them?
Olympic medals aren't quite indestructible. But given their largely silver and alloy disposition, they're fairly sturdy. The jewelry doesn't absorb much — if any — damage when athletes munch of its surface. That wasn't the case in the past, when pure gold medals would bend upon pressure.
But in the age of gold medals made mostly of silver, the laurels have been resilient.
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Do Olympic athletes still bite their medals today?
Olympic medalists continue to display their euphoria at the sight of standing on the podium by sinking their teeth into their prizes. Kazahkstani star Mikhail Shaidorov did as much after triumphing in the men's singles during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Mikhail shaidorov in his Cinderella momentAbsolute Cinema
Him biting the gold medal with braces pic.twitter.com/SWRbxYeI55
— Anna (@5lzeu4f) February 14, 2026
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