What is the composition of the Olympic medals?

The modern Olympic Games are an international event, a beautiful holiday that unites not only the entire sports world, but all the peoples of the world.
In our time it is impossible to imagine the Olympics without the inherent obligatory attributes: a white flag with five interlocking colored rings, a torch lit in Greece, an emblem, a motto, symbols, talismans and, of course, Olympic medals.

Traditions of the Olympic Awards

The custom of encouraging athletes for individual or team achievements at the Olympic Games is as ancient as these international competitions themselves. In those old days, the winners were awarded with olive wreaths, palm branches, and the native city of the athlete-olimpionika paid him a monetary prize, surrounded with honors and issued privileges.

The tradition of rewarding the Champions of the Games with medals arose in 1894. At the First IOC Congress in Paris, dedicated to the preparation for the 1st Olympics of 1896, the Olympic Charter was adopted , which prescribes the form, the minimum size and composition of Olympic medals, as well as rules and ceremonial awards. The main principle of the charter of those years is the awarding of awards depending on the result: silver medals (925 tests) for 1 and 2 places, with the winner's medal with a gold plated coating of at least 6 grams. For the 3rd place athletes were awarded a bronze medal. Awards should have a diameter of at least 60 mm and a thickness of 3 mm. The established sizes, as well as the form of medals over the past years, have sometimes changed.

So, in 1900 the winners were awarded with silver-plated rectangular plaques of bronze, and in 1908 the composition of the gold medal was 100% percent consistent with its name. However, this award, the only time consisting of pure gold, was small - with a diameter of 3.3 centimeters, it weighed 21 grams and was more like a coin. Later, the medals began to make larger, but the share of gold in them decreased significantly, although below 6 grams, indicated in the charter, never dropped.

The composition of Olympic medals

Many Olympic fans take the question: "How much gold is in the winner's medal, won by labor and then in a fair fight?" The answer is ambiguous.

The design and chemical composition of the Olympic medals changed at almost every Olympics. However, the content of gold in them is determined by the recommendations of the Olympic Charter and is from 1 to 1.5% of the weight of the award. This is 6-7 grams. For example, at the XXX Summer Olympic Games in London the main metals of the highest award are silver and copper, respectively 92.5 and 6.16%. Gold of the highest sample, which covers the surface of the coin, is present in a quantity slightly more than 1%. So, with regard to the first awards of almost all the Olympics (except in 1908 in London), the word "golden" would be more correct to write in quotes. But is the composition of the Olympic medals important? After all, in fact, the highest reward for an athlete is the recognition of his highest sport achievements, which he achieved by physical embodiment of the strength of spirit and the ultimate will to win.

Medals of the Sochi Olympiad

The composition of the Olympic medals in Sochi differs little from the accepted standards, and yet they are the largest and most difficult in the history of the Games. A set of unique awards combines original design and innovative manufacturing techniques. Sochin medals fully convey the versatility and contrasts of Russia's original culture. Each product, manufactured with the highest precision, up to a thousandth of a millimeter in accuracy, has a unique insert of polycarbonate with the "quilt" of the Olympics applied to it. This pattern consists of 16 ornaments of the most famous Russian national crafts. The obverse of the medal depicts the Olympic rings, on the reverse - the name of the competition and the emblem of the Olympics, the name of the Games is written on the edge (edge) in Russian, French and English.

The composition of the Olympic medals in Sochi

The gold medal is made of silver and copper alloy (92.5 and 6.16% respectively). Copper is needed to strengthen strength. Coverage - gold 999 tests - is 1.34% of the weight of the award. In the composition of the silver medal 93% silver 960 and 7% copper. The bronze medal is made of a copper alloy with a small addition of tin and zinc.

The awards of the Sochi Olympics will be included in the history of the Games as the most innovative, the most numerous, the most diverse, and, without superfluous modesty, the most beautiful. They represent modern Russia. It becomes clear at the first glance at any of the medals, because the design of these unique products rests on our favorite and well-known in the whole world ornaments and symbols. Honored awards, always remaining among the winners, will remind them of Russia and the unforgettable Olympic Games in Sochi.