Gold, silver, bronze - for an ordinary person, these words mean for the most part only the names of metals. For an athlete, they mean long hours of exhausting training, a huge amount of effort and emotion expended, and, most importantly, an assessment of all efforts. In any championship, there is one who came first, there are those who took second and third place, and there are those who did not have enough to reach the coveted podium quite a bit. Much has already been said about the winning athletes, but we rarely think about who got the bronze medal. What is the Olympic “bronze” made of and how is it encouraged, what results did Russia show in Rio, and what prevented you from getting more medals? We will understand all the "bronze" Olympic nuances.
Making medals
Let's start with the awards themselves. Every two years, when the Winter or Summer Olympic Games are held, the host country produces dozens of sets of medals. There is an opinion that they are all made of natural metals, but in fact this is not at all the case.
First, each host country changes the composition of the medals, adhering to the rules of the Olympic Games. According to them, gold and are made from alloys in which a little more than 90% silver, then it is already covered with at least 6 grams of gold. Bronze medal is also only covered with this metal, but is actually made of alloys. At the same time, their size and weight remain at the discretion of the organizer. But the diameter of the medal should not be less than 8.5 cm, and its thickness - less than 1 cm.
Manufacturing Variations
They approached the production of awards at the Vancouver Olympics in an interesting way: then the Canadians used recycled materials - recycled electrical circuit boards, which, as you know, have a certain content of precious metals.
Each medal was unique, had its own shape and unique engraving: Canada could afford it, significantly saving on the material for smelting. It is believed that these medals were the cheapest and most environmentally friendly in the history of the Games.
Medal awards
The award at the Olympics is not only recognition of the athlete's sporting merit, but also certain material bonuses that the athlete receives as a gift from his country. In ancient times, the winners of the Olympic Games were awarded five hundred gold coins, sculptors created their full-length statues, they could eat for free in catering places until the end of their days and, most importantly, also attend theater performances for free, the same Olympic Games, for example. Now the prize money has become much more mundane and material.
Ukraine can be called the country that “values” its winners the most: athletes there receive $55,000 for bronze medals at the Olympics. Belarus is in second place - here the champions are awarded an amount of 50 thousand dollars, and besides, they receive it for another 4 years. A pleasant plus of the Republic is that the state pays for all the preparations for the Games, athletes do not spend a penny. The Thai incentive system is interesting: there an athlete receives a little more than 300 thousand dollars, but not immediately: for 20 years every month he will receive a certain part of this amount. China has changed its policy in this regard, which has recently switched to world practice: earlier only gold medal holders were awarded here, while the rest received the right to employment in sports organizations selected province of the Celestial Empire. Economically developed European countries, for example, Great Britain, the Netherlands and France, have completely abandoned the material reward to the Olympians: it is understood that the champion will give his money for the development of sports in his country, so the authorities do not even care about paying them first, and then pick up again.
And, perhaps, to complete this “material” section, it is worth mentioning the cost of the award itself. As mentioned above, it varies from country to country and depends on the composition and design of the medal. Rio's bronze medal, for example, cost only $3: it was made from 97% copper, 2.5% zinc, and 0.5% tin.
Pain of loss
It is impossible to describe the emotions of an athlete who has a coveted award around his neck in words. But it is even more difficult to describe what an athlete experiences when he loses his medal. The echo hasn't stopped yet doping scandals, because of which many athletes were forced to part with their existing awards and could not go to new competitions.
As a result of re-checking samples for doping, some gold, silver and bronze medals of Russia were withdrawn. So, (high jump), Ekaterina Volkova (hurdle race), Nadezhda Evstyukhina (weightlifting) lost the Beijing bronze.
Ban on Participation
Continuing the theme of bitter disappointment: athletes were not allowed to participate in the Olympics at all due to the ban
Also, two weightlifters could not go to Rio - they were reminded of a violation of anti-doping laws for more than early games. For four more athletes, the disappearance of positive doping tests was noted - thus, they were not allowed to the Games.
Unrealized opportunities
Journalists calculated that due to the ban on the participation of some athletes in the games in Rio, Russia lost at least 4 medals, this is not counting the previously suspended light and weightlifters: Elena Isinbayeva (pole vault), Sergey Shubenkov (sprint), Maria Kuchina (high jump), Alexander Dyachenko (kayaking), Elena Lashmanova ( race walking) - the results of some of these athletes exceed those of the Olympic champions. Yes, Russia would not be able to catch up with China, but an additional gold, silver or bronze medal from the Rio Olympics could improve the team's place in the overall standings.
Fight to the last!
After such a sad topic, it is worth remembering the curiosities of the Rio Olympics. An amazing incident occurred in a duel, the price of which was a bronze medal in the fight in weight category up to 65 kg. Ikhtior Navruzov (Uzbekistan) and Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia) competed for the award.
It was impossible to predict the result until the last second: yes, the Mongolian was in the lead, but the Uzbek was only one point short of a draw, after which the verdict would be passed by the judges. And so it happened: the athlete equalized the score, and the referees awarded him another point, thereby deciding the outcome of the fight.
It is not difficult to imagine the reaction of the Mongolian, who so confidently went to the medal and at one moment lost it. But the athlete's coaches intervened: they rushed to the judges, trying to prove that the same point was awarded incorrectly, and demanding a review of the results. When the referees refused to review the results, one of the coaches, in protest, stripped down to his shorts on the Olympic carpet! The other limited himself to getting rid of the upper part of his “toilet”.
Discouraged, the judges still agreed to a video replay. According to its results, the victory still remained with Uzbekistan. The Mongolian wrestler found the strength to shake hands with his opponent, although, of course, it was clear how hard it was for him. The coaches, to whom the judges even showed red cards during the “striptease”, begging to interrupt the performance, were taken off the mat.
Team Results
Despite all the obstacles, the non-admission of many athletes to participate in the games in Rio, Russia took 4th place in the team standings. Best Results showed the wrestlers who brought nine awards to the team asset, of which 4 were gold. Fencers showed themselves no worse - seven medals and also 4 gold. A rather unexpected bronze Olympic medal in the team all-around belongs to gymnast she also has silver in the individual competition.
In total, at the Olympics in Rio, Russia won 56 medals, of which 19 gold, 18 silver and 19 bronze.
Conclusion
What is a bronze medal? For some - pain and disappointment: after all, one could have done a little more and ended up on the highest step of the pedestal with the coveted gold; for others - happiness: recognition of merit and the honor of being among the best athletes in the world is something for which it is worth training more and more; for the third - an incentive: having reached one height, you can safely go to conquer another. Yes, it is less valuable than gold, but at the same time, in no case should its merits be belittled. The mere thought of how much work has been invested in this award makes one feel respect for its owners. Remember that a bronze medal can become much more significant than any gold. After all, the main thing is the result, not its encouragement.
Thousands of athletes from different parts of the world compete for the main award of the Olympics the gold medal . NTV tells about what it is made of, how much precious metal is actually in the Olympic medals and what is the price of such awards.
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What are Olympic medals made of?
An Olympic gold medal is only 1.2% gold, which is just to cover the award. Inside the award itself is pure silver. The silver medal for second place also does not consist of pure precious metal. Interestingly, silver in a silver medal is about 92.5%, the remaining 7.5% is copper. But the bronze award really consists of bronze. Although bronze itself is an alloy of copper with zinc and tin (97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin).
It must be said that one of the main missions of the Olympics in Brazil is concern for the environment and attention to environmental problems. The organizers took this into account and even in the Olympic medals they did not forget to think about the conservation of nature: the ribbons for the awards are made from recycled plastic bottles.
It should be noted that the weight of the highest Olympic award this year reached 500 grams. This is an absolute record in the history of the Summer Games.
Interestingly, until 1960, medals were made without any attachments and were handed to the winners directly into their hands. The organizers of the 1960 Games in Rome made the first thin bronze chains in the shape of an olive branch so that medals could be hung around the necks of athletes. However, the organizers made sure: the girls who presented the medals for the award had scissors to quickly cut the chains in case of objections. However, the organizers liked the idea, and since then chains or ribbons have been attached to Olympic medals.
At the ancient Olympic Games, the winner was not awarded a medal at all: this tradition arose much later. At that time, the champion was rewarded with a wreath of olive branches and special prizes (for example, gold coins).
How much are the medals?
The nominal value of the gold medals of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has decreased compared to the gold medals of the 2012 Olympics in London by 12%, despite the increase in the weight of the award itself. The MarketWatch agency writes about this.
The Rio Olympics gold medals are made from 494 grams of 92.5% silver and 6 grams of 99.9% gold. The cost of precious metals at the close of trading on August 5 (the opening day of the Olympics in Rio) amounted to 19.82 dollars per troy ounce of silver and 1344.4 dollars per ounce of gold. Thus, the face value of the Rio gold medal is $601.
If we proceed from the cost of the components from which this or that Olympic award was made, then the bronze medal is the cheapest. In terms of rubles, it can cost only about 650 rubles.
The medal for the second place is made mainly of silver of at least 925 fineness, and therefore its price can be about 15,000 rubles.
Photo: REUTERS / Sergio Moraes
Athletes do not receive awards from solid precious metals due to their high cost. For example, if a first-place medal were made of solid gold, it would cost about $23,000. Considering that 812 gold medals are awarded at the Rio Games, a very significant amount would have to be spent on making them.
Only in the first modern history The Olympic Games (in 1904 in St. Louis, in 1908 in London and in 1912 in Stockholm) medals were made of solid gold. But at the same time, they were much smaller than the current samples: on average, their diameter was only 3.4 cm, and they were awarded only to those who won the individual championships.
Are there any special rules by which medals are made?
Yes, such rules exist. Among them:
the diameter of the medals must be at least 60 mm, and the thickness not less than 3 mm;
each medal must have a chain or ribbon fastener;
each medal must indicate the sport in which it is played;
The design of the medals is developed by the country hosting the Olympic Games, but only the International Olympic Committee can approve it.
What do the medals of the Rio Olympics look like?
The obverse side of the medal depicts Nike, the winged goddess of victory in mythology. Ancient Greece. She is below five Olympic rings, while the name of the discipline and the name of the medal winner are engraved along the edge.
Photo: REUTERS / Sergio Moraes
The other side of the medal features the Rio 2016 logo. It should be noted that the award is presented to the athletes along with the case, which is made of cordia goelda wood: it grows only in South America.
Olympic gold: what awards for athletes are made of
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Olympic medal - a sign of distinction, which is awarded to the winners and prize-winners of the competition (both individual and team)held as part of the Olympic Games under the auspices of the IOC. It is one of the obligatory attributes of the modern Olympic movement. The design is proposed by the Organizing Committee of the Games and approved by the IOC.
The International Olympic Committee has the following requirements for Olympic medals and the procedure for awarding winners and prize-winners:
medals are awarded to athletes who take the first three places:
Gold - for the first place;
Silver - for the second place;
Bronze - for third place.
The regulations for some competitions provide for two third places (boxing, wrestling, etc.). Such regulations are proposed, approved and regulated by the relevant international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee.
It is possible to award several medals of the same value - for equality of results. In such cases, the silver medal is not awarded if two or more gold medals are awarded. The bronze medal is not awarded if two or more silver or three or more gold medals are awarded.
materials from which the medals are made:
Gold and silver medals must be made of at least 925 silver;
The gold medal must be covered with at least 6 grams of gold;
A bronze medal is made from copper alloys with zinc, tin or other impurities. metals;
requirements for the shape and design of the Olympic medal:
Minimum diameter - 60 mm;
Minimum thickness - 3 mm;
The surface must be engraved with the sport in which the medal was won;
In addition to awarding the winners and prize-winners of the Olympic Games, the practice of presenting commemorative Olympic medals all participants, judges, officials.
Interesting Facts:
- On I and II Olympic Games(1896, 1900) medals were awarded only for 1st and 2nd places.
- All medals of the Summer Olympic Games - round shape. The only exception was the rectangular “plaquettes”, which were awarded to the winners, prize-winners and participants in the competitions of the II Olympic Games of 1900 in Paris. Medals winter olympics are less conservative.
- Twice medals were minted from gold of a sample not lower than 583 - for the winners of the competitions at the 1908 Olympic Games in London and 1912 in Stockholm.
- The medal of the Stockholm Games in 1912 became the smallest and lightest in the history of the Olympic movement: thickness - 1.5 mm, diameter - 33.4 mm, weight - 24 grams. The gold medal was made of pure gold and was awarded only to the winners in the individual championship. The winners in the team championship were awarded silver with gilding.
- In the manufacture of Olympic medals, designers used, in addition to metals, various natural and synthetic materials: Norwegian granite (Lillehammer 1994), crystal (Alberville 1992), jade (Beijing 2008) and others.
