Why do athletes bite gold medals?

1. "Biting the gold medal" is an animal attribute of human beings. We can get a feeling through sensory experience, that is, we can taste the so-called "champion taste". Competitive sports is a highly concentrated competition. After winning the championship, some people will relax like this, which is the return of instinctive attributes.

And even if the athletes don't bite the gold medal at the award ceremony, it is doomed. Because according to the regulations of the International Olympic Committee, after the athletes walk off the podium, they must first pass through the photography area and be interviewed by reporters. At that time, they were ecstatic and their minds were "blank". If any reporter likes the way of taking pictures of "biting the gold medal", shout "biting the gold medal!" Most athletes can't help but accept the request and do what they like.

3. With the first "bite the gold medal", there will be the second and third ... The mutual imitation between athletes makes this action an unwritten convention.

In the memory of many journalists, the first person to bite the Olympic gold medal was an American swimmer, who won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games with a score of 1984. At that time, after winning the championship, he excitedly put the gold medal in his mouth and bit hard with his teeth. At that time, this scene was captured by many photographers present and immediately became one of the classic anecdotes at the Olympic Games. At that time, it was generally believed that he wanted to test the gold content of this gold medal, because in ancient times, people generally used their teeth to test the purity of gold coins. The purer the gold, the softer the gold coins. But then the athlete himself explained the reason: at that time, he saw so many photographers aiming at him, and he only thought of this action to create a small tidbit. He also said that he knew at that time that the gold medal was not made of real gold and there was no need to take a bite to test the purity.

The action of American athletes biting the gold medal was quickly imitated by some athletes. However, because the scenes of the Los Angeles Olympic Games have been known to many sports fans all over the world, few photographers or cameramen deliberately freeze these scenes.

In fact, shortly after the end of the Los Angeles Olympic Games, someone dug up the history of the Olympic Games, proving that as early as the London Olympic Games in 1948, there was a scene where athletes bit the gold medal after winning the championship, but the photos were too old and unclear, so they were not recognized by some people.