Why Do Olympians Bite Their Medals?

You’ve probably seen a million photos of Olympic athletes biting down on their new medals. Yum? But as a normie who couldn’t in a million years stand next to their caliber, there are things we are missing out. Like why do talented Olympians bite on their shiny new medals?

You must be saying, “oh it’s just an old practice that has now become tradition”, no. You’re wrong! I’d like to believe that the medals are made of chocolate too, but that’s also wrong. The real reason why every Olympic athlete chomp down on their medal like it’s a stick of beef jerky, is that they’re pretty much forced to do so!

Every time an athlete receives a medal, a photographer will ask him to bite it down. "It's become an obsession with the photographers," David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians tells CNN. "I think they look at it as an iconic shot, as something that you can probably sell. I don't think it's something the athletes would probably do on their own."

And it’s true. It kinda is an iconic shot. Very dramatic, or very fun. It’s better than having the athlete just stand there and smile. Another historical reason is that in the past, biting down on precious metals is a way to authenticate if they really are real. Gold is softer than metal, so when you bite down on gold, your teeth marks will get imprinted on it.

SEE ALSO: Hottest Athletes of the 2016 Rio Olympics

But biting your medal can be hazardous. In 2010, German luger (German sled guy) David Moller, chipped his front tooth while biting his silver medal for photographers. That’s why some Olympians choose to kiss their medals instead.

Now, you don’t need to enter the next Olympics to know why the talented guys bite their medals.

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