Why do Olympians bite their medals? | Burning Questions

You’re probably used to seeing athletes ‘bite’ their Gold Medals on the podium, but have you ever wondered why they do this?

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[AndySaenz]

Athletes spend 6 days a week, for several years, training for the Olympics. I think they certainly deserve a SOLID GOLD medal! And they don't deserve a 39% tax on any cash winnings from the Olympics.

[limbu]

I guess they bite their medals to show how hungry they were for Olympic medals.

[PaldBenis]

Would be cool if they started awarding gold/silver/bronze olive wreaths.

[memoriblewerd]

*I skipped to the end and the gist is that ancient merchants would bite gold coins in order to test that they weren't lead forgeries*

[pastelamethyststarot]

UPLOAD THE FULL PREFORMANCE ON YOUTUBE OF THE 2018 OPENING CEREMONIES! IM TIRED OF WAITING!!!!

[anyalify]

upload the the full 2018 ceremony please, !

[kiera]

Skip all the useless information: they bite them because merchants use to bite coins to tell if it’s real gold

[sainter]

Because these days the media tell them to. It's like tennis champs kissing the trophy at Wimbledon.

[MRDOOD]

It's a taste of victory . The taste identify by only the winner

[greglr]

It's a tradition to prove the medal is real and not made of chocolate.

[mic]

You would think they would get the right info on why Olympians do it, it was Canadian runner from the 1996 olympics Donovan Bailey who started it at the Olympics.

[TheIsalaza]

It is so unfair to compare medal winners from different sports!
A swimmer can compete, and therefore be able to win, one hundred medals .

[Sobergrid]

it's not very funny. and you literally waited until the end of the video to answer the question...

[vivienkushi]

HE WAS CARRYING A SOCHI 2014 GOLD MEDAL!!!

[JCEurovisionFan]

Come on! Please upload the full opening ceremony!

[HarryHayfield]

We all know the slightly odd circumstances that led to Australia winning their first Winter Olympic gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, but what's the strangest Winter Olympic medal (both in terms of circumstance and in terms of performance)?

[ezRicky]

Thanks for all the unexpected useless information, for just one answer.

[bbozsi]

This funny piece of celebration was done first by Peter Farkas, a Greco-Roman wrestler from Hungary in the 1992 Barcelona games. It has its charm thanks to thing you explain in 2 sentences at 4.08, so it became popular.

That's the answer you are looking for!

[skullcrusher]

the athletes deserve real gold medals and prize money as well

[liyasya]

it just feels good to bite something metallic