Did you know gold medals at Olympics are not entirely made of gold? Know other interesting facts about Olympic medals

Medals for the Tokyo Olympics will be made of recycled electrical equipment. These medals will be 8.5 cm in diameter and will have a picture of 'Nike', the goddess of victory of Greece.

Medals will be made from old cell phones

Unlike previous years, they have been made from gold, silver and bronze (in this case copper and zinc) extracted from more than 79,000 tons of used mobile phones and other small electric devices donated by the Japanese public. During the ancient Olympic Games, winners were given 'kotinos' or garlands of olive flowers, which is considered as a sacred prize in Greece and a sign of the highest honour.

A lost tradition of Greece, the Olympic Games were reborn in 1896, in Athens. With the reincarnation, the old customs were replaced by new customs and the tradition of giving medals started. The winners were given silver while the runners-up were given copper or bronze medal. In front of the medal, was a picture of Zeus, the God of Sky, who was holding Naik. Games were organized in the honour of Zeus. While on the other side of the medal, was a picture of the Acropolis.

Gold, silver and bronze medals were used for the first time in 1904, in St. Louis. These medals represent the first 3 eras of Greek mythology. The Golden Age-when humans lived with the gods, the Silver Age - where youth was a hundred years old and the Bronze Age- the age of heroes.

Changes in 1923

Over the next century, the size, shape, weight, combination and picture of/on the medal kept changing. In 1923, the IOC started a competition for craftsmen to design medals for the Olympic Games. Giuseppe Cacialli, an Italian artist won the competition and in 1924 the Paris Olympics were held.

The front of the medal was raised, with Nike holding the palm in his left hand and the crown for the winner in his right. It had a painting of Kalagriha in the background. The rear of the medal had the winner being lifted by a crowd of people. This design of the medal remained intact for a long time.

What happened at the Munich Olympics?

Host cities were allowed to change the rear of the medals from the 1972 Munich Olympics. The next section, however, underwent a change during the Athens Olympics in 2004. There was a new image of Nike, she was flying over the 1896 Panathenaic Stadium to give victory to the strongest, tallest and fastest player.

Before the 1960 Rome Olympics, medals were pinned to the winners' chests, but these were designed like a necklace and the players could wear them around their necks with the help of a chain. Four years later, this chain was replaced by colourful ribbons.

The interesting thing is that the gold medal is not entirely made of gold. Medals entirely made of gold were given in the Stockholm Olympics 1912, for the last time. Now only gold water is offered on medals. As per the IOC guidelines, the gold medal should contain at least 6 grams of gold. But in reality, the medal has a large part of silver.

In the Beijing Olympics 2008, for the first time, China introduced a medal that was made of jade, not any metal. This ruby, a symbol of honor and virtue in the traditional culture of China, was placed on the rear side of every medal.

Responsibility towards environment

In view of the increasing awareness towards the environment, the organizers of the Rio Olympics 2016 decided to use more recycled metals. Not only 30 percent recycled materials was used in the medals, but 50 percent recycled plastic bottles were also used in the ribbons attached to it. Following in the footsteps of Rio, the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics also decided to make similar medals.