Know Your Olympics: Stockholm Olympics 1912

Last Olympics to issue solid gold medals

The Stockholm Olympics was the last edition where winners were lucky enough to receive solid gold medals.

Stockholm 1912 was also the last 'lucky Olympics'. This was the final edition of the Games where the gold medalists received solid gold medals.

The winners of the inaugural edition of the modern Olympics in Athens 1896 received silver medals. There was no provision for medals for third-place finishers. The runners-up were not much better off either, for they received copper medals. In the Paris Olympics, winners either received cups or trophies. Some lucky winners received silver medals as well.

It was at the St. Louis Olympics in 1904 where athletes were presented with solid gold medals for coming first, and silver and bronze for second and third respectively.

The tradition eventually came to an end at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, where it was finally decided that all the medalists would receive plated medals, not solid ones.