How much are Olympic gold medals really worth?

Team GB are hoping to win plenty of gold medals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but how much are the medals actually worth?

Winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of any athlete’s career, and already Team GB have secured two.

The first came in the equestrian team eventing, with Team GB defending the gold medal they won in Tokyo three years ago.

That was followed by Tom Pidcock winning gold in the men’s mountain biking with a stunning come-from-behind victory.

Japan currently top the medal table with six gold medals, with hosts France second with five.

A gold medal is the physical representation of years of hard work and sacrifice, but what is the monetary worth of the metal disc on the end of a ribbon?

Surprisingly, gold medals aren’t actually made of pure gold. In fact, they are mostly made of silver.

An Olympic gold medal is required to be made from at lest 92.5 percent silver, and only has to contain six grams of gold.

In contrast, the silver and bronze medals are made entirely from their respective metals.

Tom Pidcock won gold in the mountain biking.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, gold medals were worth around £540, silvers were worth £297 and the bronze medals were valued at £5. Seriously, copper and zinc are extremely common metals.

That said, historic medals have sold for incredible amounts. Back in 2013, one of Jesse Owen’s golds from the 1936 Berlin Olympics – that he won in front of Adolf Hitler – sold for a mega $1.46 million (£1.13 million).

The design for this year’s Olympic medals is pretty unique, with a hexagonal design with an iron sculpture of the Eiffel Tower on top of the medal. The special feature adds an additional 18 grams to the medal weight.

Joachim Roncin, head of design at the Paris Games organising committee, said: “Having a gold medal is already something incredible. But we wanted to add this French touch and we thought that the Eiffel Tower would be this cherry on top.

“Having a piece of it is a piece of history.”

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