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Why Olympic athletes are still biting their medals in 2024, explained

charles curtis
Jul 27, 2024; Paris, France; Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook (USA) celebrate after placing second and winning the silver medal in the women's 3m synchronized springboard diving competition during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Aquatics Centre. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: OLY-887915 ORIG FILE ID: 20240727_jel_qp1_589.jpg

Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Have you noticed athletes continuing to bite their medals? Even in 2024? Here’s an Olympics edition which will hopefully answer a question you might have.

CHATEAUROUX, FRANCE - JULY 27: Silver medalist Jihyeon Keum of Team Republic of Korea bites her medal on the podium during the Shooting medal ceremony after the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team on day one of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 27, 2024 in Chateauroux, France. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776138934 ORIG FILE ID: 2163891422

But why do Olympic athletes bite their medals?

So are Olympians checking to see if the medal is real gold, silver or bronze?

EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 28: Grant Holloway bites the gold medal after winning the men's 110 meter hurdles final on Day Eight of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field on June 28, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776105320 ORIG FILE ID: 2159759018
EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 28: Grant Holloway bites the gold medal after winning the men's 110 meter hurdles final on Day Eight of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field on June 28, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776105320 ORIG FILE ID: 2159759018

CNN in 2012:

But why do athletes feign chomping on their prized medallions, anyway?Most likely to satisfy the pose-hungry media, says David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians. There are only so many things to do with a medal, and the excited champions are usually appeasing requests from the gallery of Olympic photographers when they bite down on their booty.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Olympic athletes are still biting their medals in 2024, explained