A photo making rounds on social media has sparked conversations about the changing composition of Olympic gold medals over the years. The image contrasts a gold medal from the 1908 Olympics, which was made of 100% pure gold, with a 2024 Olympic gold medal, reportedly containing just 1% gold.

The 1908 medal, a relic of the early modern Olympics, represents a time when the prestige of the games was mirrored in the material value of the medals themselves. In contrast, the 2024 Olympic gold medal, although still highly symbolic, reflects the evolution of the games and the shifting priorities in material usage due to economic and environmental considerations.

This comparison has fueled discussions online, with many expressing nostalgia for the older, purer medals, while others emphasize the significance of the achievements these medals represent, regardless of their material composition. The photo serves as a stark reminder of how the Olympics—and the world—have changed over more than a century.

According to Blaise Pascal "It is not only old and early impressions that deceive us; the charms of novelty have the same power too.”

So either u believe the old medal or the new one is more creative, Pascal already said you both are wrong

The world wanna move from Greek-Only to a Global competition, I guess.

I want to think they were fewer people participating in the Olympics then...

So providing pure gold as medals wouldn't have cost so much.

On the other hand more participants in modern Olympics would require more logistics and the cost of providing pure gold as medals would be skyrocketing. Who would bear this cost. And can it even be afforded by the organizers?

The issue here is cost reduction.

A symbolic gold medal to me is enough.

Maybe athletes can be compensated or rewarded by the country's they represented and won medals for.

To reduce the cost burden on the organizers!

DevilsEqual:

According to Blaise Pascal "It is not only old and early impressions that deceive us; the charms of novelty have the same power too.”

So either u believe the old medal and the new one is more creative, Pascal already said you both are wrong

Well, I will still choose the 1908 100% gold medal over 2024 1% gold medal

brain54:
I want to think they were fewer people participating in the Olympics then...

So providing pure gold as medals wouldn't have cost so much.

On the other hand more participants in modern Olympics would require more logistics and the cost of providing pure gold as medals would be skyrocketing. Who would bear this cost. And can it even be afforded by the organizers?

The issue here is cost reduction.

A symbolic gold medal to me is enough.

Maybe athletes can be compensated or rewarded by the country's they represented and won medals for.

To reduce the cost burden on the organizers!

Put it as you wish


But money and budgeting is the least worry for the organizers of The Olympics

NoahHadNoArk:




Put it as you wish


But money and budgeting is the least worry for the organizers of The Olympics

Doesn't mean they have a limitless budget...

What other reason do you have to explain the reason from the change to 1% gold?

It's cost!

brain54:
I want to think they were fewer people participating in the Olympics then...

So providing pure gold as medals wouldn't have cost so much.

On the other hand more participants in modern Olympics would require more logistics and the cost of providing pure gold as medals would be skyrocketing. Who would bear this cost. And can it even be afforded by the organizers?

The issue here is cost reduction.

A symbolic gold medal to me is enough.

Maybe athletes can be compensated or rewarded by the country's they represented and won medals for.

To reduce the cost burden on the organizers!

This is more of greed on the IOCs part. Each medal weighs 412g on average, a 412g medal of pure gold should cost around $30k multiplied by the approximately 1500 medals gives $45m . Considering the IOC makes $5.7bn and $740m in sponsorship alone, that figure is not some thing to fret about as it's the Olympics we're talking about not some highschool interhouse sport.

victory36:
This is more of greed on the IOCs part. Each medal weighs 412g on average, a 412g medal of pure gold should cost around $30k multiplied by the approximately 1500 medals gives $45m . Considering the IOC makes $5.7bn and $740m in sponsorship alone, that figure is not some thing to fret about as it's the Olympics we're talking about not some highschool interhouse sport.

Okay greed is also a tenable reason...

But also remember that asides "printing" those gold bars. They are also other logistic costs to be taken care of. Also won't it mean them having to issue real silver and bronze medals as well?

All of these will add to costs. Including other logistics as I mentioned earlier.

Plus I won't expect them to expend everything they made on a single Olympics... Still 4 years to plan, execute and organize another Olympics ahead.

We really don't know how much money they make and how much they budget so we can only speculate figures.

But the truth is however we look at it... It will still all boil down to cost reduction.

And by the way the last Olympics at Tokyo had 11000 participants... While the just ended one in Paris had about 10,500 participants.

I don't know how many of them won medals though... But imagine the logistic cost of taking care of 11000 people!

brain54:
I want to think they were fewer people participating in the Olympics then...

So providing pure gold as medals wouldn't have cost so much.

On the other hand more participants in modern Olympics would require more logistics and the cost of providing pure gold as medals would be skyrocketing. Who would bear this cost. And can it even be afforded by the organizers?

The issue here is cost reduction.

A symbolic gold medal to me is enough.

Maybe athletes can be compensated or rewarded by the country's they represented and won medals for.

To reduce the cost burden on the organizers!

The sponsors funds is suppose to cater for this, the organizers can do better

Amazing

Evolution

Those medals that looked like cupcake wrappers

Olympics wey include break dance, that one na Olympics? Is it not preferable to include scrabble, chess or perhaps 1,2,3 salatu go?

Okay


It's quite some money there for anyone with such 100% pure gold

Change is a constant thing

Tinubu don still reach here? What APC cannot do does not exist

Okay

Civilization!

Fake gold

Atleast, it would have been 50% gold. 1% is too poor for an ancient game like olympics which is one of the most sponsored event in the world

Times are changing, so does quality
You can't compare what was obtainable then to what's on ground now. Things are adulterated and it's quality keep reducing as days go by.

Some food commodities aren't left behind also. The qualities of these commodities keep depreciating as the days go by.

Where will the organisers get the money to give out pure gold at a time like this?

Hmmm

brain54:
I want to think they were fewer people participating in the Olympics then...

So providing pure gold as medals wouldn't have cost so much.

On the other hand more participants in modern Olympics would require more logistics and the cost of providing pure gold as medals would be skyrocketing. Who would bear this cost. And can it even be afforded by the organizers?

The issue here is cost reduction.

A symbolic gold medal to me is enough.

Maybe athletes can be compensated or rewarded by the country's they represented and won medals for.

To reduce the cost burden on the organizers!

hmmm..... Check the budget for the Olympics in the 1900s and check budget for that in 2024, and you will see that the most recent one costs more to host.... If they really want to use pure gold, they could have factored all those on the budget.

Do you know how many organisations sponsor Olympics? Even television and other rights being sold by the Olympic committee generated billions.

Truth is current happenings has shown that organisers if the Olympics are more capitalist, they don't even pay winners or attendees of the Olympics well, in accordance to how much is being generated.

Popular Podcaster, Joe Rogan exposed their antics a few weeks ago.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCZjx53R9P0

Nothing to see here, just humans being humans..

Ok

How oyinbos used their mythology and legends to influence the world is staggering.

Their believe that a certain messanger ran from a town called Marathon to Athens,in Greece to announce a victorious war against the Persian is just conspicuous. How can a man ran a whooping 40km non stop. Hmm

I wonder why the same Europeans will not accept our own Yoruba legends and mythology. Interesting!

Do you know the current cost of real gold......... 😁