athletes, at the
Museum of Sport and Tourism in
Warsaw The IOC dictates the physical properties of the medals and has the final decision about the finished design. Specifications for the medals are developed along with the
National Olympic Committee (NOC) hosting the Games, though the IOC has brought in some set rules: • Recipients: The top three competitors receive medals • Shape: Usually circular, featuring an attachment for a chain or ribbon • Diameter: A minimum of 60 mm • Thickness: A minimum of 3 mm • Material: • First place (the gold medal): It is composed at least 92.5% of
silver,
plated with 6 grams of
gold; the metal value was about
US$494 in 2010. At the
2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021 in
Tokyo, Japan, the medal at then-current prices was worth about $800. • Second place (the silver medal): 92.5% silver; the metal value was about
US$260 in 2010. At the Tokyo games it was 95% copper and 5% zinc with a metal value of about $5.
Trionfo from the
1980 Summer Olympics showing Cassioli's obverse design portraying
Nike, the Greek goddess of victory In 1923 the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched a competition for sculptors to design the medals for the
Summer Olympic Games.
Giuseppe Cassioli's
Trionfo design was chosen as the winner in 1928. The obverse brought back Nike but this time as the main focus, holding a winner's crown and palm with a depiction of the
Colosseum in the background. The competition saw this design used for 40 years until the
1972 Summer Olympics in
Munich became the first Games with a different design for the reverse side of the medal. The
Greek press criticised the design for ignorance of the birthplace of the Olympic Games, pointing out that the long-standing feature on the front of medals was mistakenly depicting the Roman Colosseum rather than the Greek
Parthenon. The Sydney Organising Committee decided to continue with the design as it was, noting that there was insufficient time to complete another version and that it would be too costly. This new obverse design remains in use.
Custom reverse designs The German Olympic Committee,
Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland, was the first Summer Games organisers to elect to change the reverse of the medal. The 1972 design was created by
Gerhard Marcks, an artist from the
Bauhaus, and features mythological twins
Castor and Pollux. Since then the Organising Committee of the host city has been given the freedom of the design of the reverse, with the IOC giving final approval.
Comparison between Summer and Winter The IOC has the final decision on the specifications of each design for all Olympic medals, including the Summer Games,
Winter Games,
Summer Paralympic Games and
Winter Paralympic Games. There has been a greater variety of design applications for the Winter Games; unlike with the Summer Games, the IOC never mandated one particular design. The medal at the inaugural
1924 Winter Olympics in
Chamonix, France did not even feature the
Olympic rings. Nike was featured on the medals of the 1932 and 1936 Games but has only appeared on one medal design since then. One regular motif is the use of the snowflake, while laurel leaves and crowns appear on several designs. The Olympic motto
Citius, Altius, Fortius features on four Winter Games medals but does not appear on any Summer Games medal. For three events in a row, hosts of the Winter Games included different materials in the medals: glass (1992),
sparagmite (1994), and
lacquer (1998). It was not until the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing, China that a Summer Olympic host chose to use something different, in this case,
jade. While every Summer Olympic medal except for the 1900 Games has been circular, the shapes of the Winter Games have been considerably more varied. The designs for the Winter Games medals are also generally larger, thicker, and heavier than those for the Summer Games. ==Individual design details==