Olympic Medals

- Tradition began in 1896
- Originally, the silver medal was awarded to the first place athlete
- Each host city develops a new design for the medals
- Since 1928, all medals have had the same symbols on one side
- Opposite side is free for the host city to design
- Gold medals are actually silver covered in a gold leaf
- Medals are approximately two inches in diameter
- The medals awarded at the 2008 Olympics are the first to feature a non-metal material

The awarding of Olympic medals is a central tradition in the Olympic Games. During the ancient olympics in Greece, the first place winner received only an olive laurel. Since the revival of the games in 1896, the top three winners have been awarded with gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively.
All-Time Gold Medal Count
1. United States (USA): 973
2. Russia (RUS): 473
3. Italy (ITA): 218
4. France (FRA): 209
5. Germany (GER): 207
6. Great Britain (GBR): 196
7. East Germany (GDR): 192
8. Sweden (SWE): 185
9. Hungary (HUN): 156
10. Norway (NOR): 149

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Olympic Medals Questions

how many of the 110 medals were won by the Men? 1 Answer

53 medals won by men. Please read more interesting info below. -quote--- A lot of success was found by Team U.S.A. at the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing... read more

Will Chicago get the Olympics in 2016? 3 Answers

No. because Rio de Janeiro already was awarded the games. ... read more

What happened in the 1972 Olympics gold medal basketball game? 4 Answers

Doug Collins of America sank two free throws with 3 seconds on the clock to put USA up 50-49 at the buzzer. The Soviet coaches charged the scorers' table, sayi... read more

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On Twitter Powered by Twitter
- @amyybroe i am the champ of that game. if it was an olympic sport i would have a million gold medals.
- How are Olympic Gold Medals made and by whom? you can find out in the book, ALL ABOUT GOLD. AT http://allaboutgold.org
- McQuaid: We Tried To Get More Olympic Medals | Cyclingnews.com http://bit.ly/7JNOuM
- McQuaid: We Tried To Get More Olympic Medals | Cyclingnews.com http://bit.ly/7JNOuM
- Isn't Overreacting an olympic sport yet? know a lot of people who could win gold medals
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