When it comes to the biggest moments in sports history, the Olympic Games will probably be involved in most of them. Not only do they represent the biggest stage for athletes from any sport, but the Summer Olympics are also a special event that symbolizethe union between countries and gobeyond their sporting activities, involving culture and tradition.
Tokyo 2020has been an atypcal editionof the Olympics, with the Games taking place a year later than expected and with no spectators due to Covid-19. Therefore, fans were eagerly waiting for Paris 2024.
With the return of fans, the French capital is seeing large attendance numbers across different events, with supporters witnessing some of the traditions they’ve missed for so long. For instance, fans may have noticed how athletes continue to bite medals whenever they succeed.
The reason Olympiansbite their medals
At the moment of taking a picture after finishing on the podium, athletes will probably pose with their medals between their teeth. Why is that? Well,thetradition has to do with requests fromthe people behind the cameras.
Antoine Zeghdar and Jefferson-Lee Joseph of Team France line up after collecting their gold medals on the podium following the team’s victory in the Men’s Rugby Sevens Gold Medal match between France and Fiji on day one of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on July 27, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
David Wallechisnky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians, has explained to CNN thatOlympic winners bite their medalsbecausephotographers askthem to.
Those kinds of pictures are reportedly easier to sell and seem to have more chances of making it into the front page of a newspaper or used asthe main picture of an article. Now it became a habit for winning athletes,but only when facingthe photographers.
