Tokyo Olympics Organizers Joke That 'Medals Are Not Edible' as Athletes Keep Biting Them

Vanessa Etienne
·2 min read
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Anastasija Zolotic
Anastasija Zolotic

Maja Hitij/Getty

Hey, that's not a snack!

As the Tokyo Summer Olympics continue, the Games' official Twitter account is teasing athletes for pretending to eat their medals, in a classic podium pose that stars like Michael Phelps and Simone Biles have struck through the years.

"We just want to officially confirm that the #Tokyo2020 medals are not edible!" Olympic organizers joked on Twitter last week, sharing photos of medal winners seeming to sink their teeth into the hardware.

"Our medals are made from material recycled from electronic devices donated by the Japanese public. So, you don't have to bite them... but we know you still will," the account added.

The next day, organizers kept poking fun at the popular moment, writing, "You got to take the wrapper off first to get to the chocolate on the inside!

"A huge congratulations to every medallist, athlete, official, volunteer, and the fans who made today special," they added, sharing more photos of medalists biting into their prizes.

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Back in 2012, David Wallechinsky, executive committee member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, said athletes only bite their medals for the media, CNN reported.

"It's become an obsession with the photographers," Wallechinsky told the outlet. "I think they look at it as an iconic shot, as something that you can probably sell. I don't think it's something the athletes would probably do on their own."

At the Tokyo Olympics, the gold, silver and bronze medals are all uniquely sustainable due to their design. Between April 2017 and March 2019, Japan ran the "Tokyo 2020 Medal Project," where volunteers gathered small electronic devices recycled across the country in order to create the approximately 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals with nearly 79,000 tons of collected materials.

"We hope that our project of recycling small consumer electronics and our efforts to contribute to an environmentally-friendly and sustainable society will form part of the legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games," Olympic organizers said in a statement of the 100% recycled medals awarded this year.