Chinese gymnastics champion Zhu Yaqin recently took social media by storm with a humorous moment when she learned the "medal bite" move while standing on the podium, imitating her fellow medalists. During the medal ceremony for the balance beam competition in gymnastics, the gold medalist bit her medal, prompting Zhu to mimic her in a funny way.
The "medal bite" is an old Olympic tradition, but what does this famous gesture mean? After Olympic athletes receive their medals and listen to the national anthem of the gold medalist, they leave the stage only to face a swarm of photographers, after which they bite their medals in front of the cameras.
According to David Valsinetsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians and author of "The Complete Book of the Olympics," the reason is "because photographers request it." While Olympic historians are not certain which athlete started this trend, they believe athletes nibble on their awards to check the metal. Some say that because gold is softer than silver or bronze, one way to determine if your medal is real is to bite it. If your teeth leave a mark or dent on the precious medal, you'll know you've received a gold medal.
In California during the 19th century, gold prospectors would test if the gold they found was "real" by biting it.
