Winter Olympics 2022: Are Winter Olympic gold medals made of real gold? Why do athletes bite their medals?

When Beijing hosts the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on 4 February, it will become the first city in the world to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Games, which this year's medals have been designed to reflect. They will feature the «jade-inlaid medals of the Summer Games in 2008» to showcase Beijing as the first «dual Olympic city,» according to the official Olympic website.

Ad/> With 109 intricately engraved medals (named ‘Tong Xin,’ meaning ‘together as one’) ready to be awarded in February – more than the PyeongChang 2018 Games – are Olympic champions actually going to be presented with real gold? Beijing 2022Shiffrin, Hanyu, Ledecka and more – 7 global stars set to light up Beijing4 HOURS AGO What is the Russian Olympic Committee? ROC and Russia ban from Beijing 2022 explained IOC president Thomas Bach visits the Beijing Olympic village Beijing spotlight: History-maker Ledecka out to astound all over again Are Olympic gold medals made of real gold? Olympic gold medals might look like the real deal, but they are actually made mostly out of silver – the outer casing is normally made of real gold. They are required to be made up of at least 92.5% silver and only need to contain a minimum six grams of gold.

The medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, for example, were made up of recycled electronic devices donated by the Japanese public. /> Olympic medals also need to feature the five rings symbol the Greek goddess of victory Nike in front of the Panathinaikos Stadium in Athens and the official name of the tournament — according to the International Olympic Committee.