#4 It’s not really gold!
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It is obvious that the only thing better than winning a silver medal at the Olympic games is actually winning the gold itself. But both these medals are made of the same thing!
The Olympic gold and silver medals are 92.5% silver in composition. The fact that both the first and second place winners practically take home the same thing is a bit surprising, to say the least.
The gold medal gets the colour because it is plated with 6 grams of gold. The last time winners were presented with solid gold medals was in the 1912 Games.
All of the medals are supposed to be at least 3mm thick and 60mm in diameter, and the bronze medals are mainly composed of copper and tin.
Another surprising fact is that the winners in the 1896 games were not awarded a medal, which had gold at least in its name. They received a silver medal and an olive branch. Second place winners were awarded a bronze medal and third place winners were not given anything!
