It’s not easy to be an Olympian and winning a medal at the grandest stage is also a very demanding task. Out of 10K selected Olympians only 1K win medals, except some multi-medal winners. So the whole world watches when these 10 percent of ‘selected’ athletes receive their medals and there is one interesting ‘ritual’ that might surprise many. Medal-winning athletes, especially gold medal winners bite their medals on the podium itself. Read below to know the actual reason for this ‘medal biting ritual’.  India at Paris Olympics 2024 Full Schedule in IST, Free PDF Download Online: Get Indian Contingent's Event Dates and Timings at Summer Olympic Games.

Why Do Athletes Bite Their Medals?

While the athlete biting their medal photo is always iconic and ‘photogenic’ it’s not the real reason for the ritual. While it's unclear where the trend first originated, many think Team GB's 1991 gold medal-winning 4x400m relay were some of the first athletes to do the trend. As per the claims because gold is softer than silver or bronze, one way to figure out whether your medal is authentic or not is to bite into it.

With this ‘physics’, should your teeth leave a mark or dent on the precious accolade, you'd know you have a gold medal. While the ‘taste of success’ is what everyone wants, biting a medal could be one such ritual that will always encourage future athletes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2024 06:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).