Olympic gold medal
An award given to the winner of an Olympic event. Since 1912, Olympic gold medals have generally been made primarily of silver and coated with gold.
Ancient Olympic Games: Athletic and religious festivals held at Olympia in ancient Greece, traditionally dated from 776 BCE to 393 CE. The modern medal honors victors in a revival of these ancient competitions.
Olympic medal: An award presented to top finishers in Olympic events, typically in gold, silver, and bronze. The gold award is the first-place member of this three-medal system.
1896 Summer Olympics medals: The awards presented at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, where winners received silver medals. They show that the earliest modern Olympic champions did not receive gold.
Olympic podium: The platform where Olympic medalists are presented with their awards during a medal ceremony. The podium ceremony makes the medal a public symbol of achievement.
Pierre de Coubertin: The French educator who founded the International Olympic Committee and helped revive the Olympic Games. His revival movement established the modern Games and their awards.
Gold: A dense, malleable chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number 79. Gold gives the medal its color and prestigious name, though modern medals are mostly silver.
2016 Summer Olympics medals: The medals awarded at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, made with recycled materials and gold-free silver sourcing. Their production emphasized environmental standards alongside the medal’s traditional symbolism.
Olympic anthem: A ceremonial composition performed when the Olympic flag is raised during an Olympic medal ceremony. Its performance accompanies the honor given to the gold medalist.
1904 Summer Olympics: The third modern Summer Olympic Games, held in St. Louis, Missouri. These Games introduced gold, silver, and bronze medals for first, second, and third place.
Silver: A lustrous chemical element with symbol Ag and atomic number 47. Modern Olympic gold medals use silver as their main structural metal.