Tag: metals

What are the Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals made of?

Infographic on Tokyo 2020 olympic medal compositions. The gold medal weighs 556 grams and is 98.8% silver and 1.2% gold. The silver medal weighs 550 grams and is 100% silver. The bronze medal weighs 450 grams and is 95% copper and 5% zinc. This year’s medals are the first to be made entirely from recycled metals. The metals used to make all of the approximately 5,000 medals were extracted from used electronic devices donated across Japan. This amounted to approximately 32 kg of gold, 3,500 kg of silver, and 2,200 kg of bronze extracted from 78,985 tons of donated devices.
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The delayed 2020 Olympics are currently taking place in Tokyo, and setting a number of firsts. Obviously, it’s the first Olympics to take place without a public audience in the stadiums to watch the events. However, it’s also the first Olympics at which the medals are made entirely from recycled metals. This graphic takes a closer look at their composition and how the metals to make them were amassed.

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Rio Olympic Medal Compositions

The Composition of the Rio Olympics Medals

Rio Olympic Medal Compositions

If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you might have assumed that the medals given out are, as advertised, made of gold, silver, and bronze. Due to metal values, however, the reality is slightly more complicated. Giving out pure gold medals would be financially crippling for the International Olympic Committee, so unsurprisingly some compromises are involved. This graphic looks at the different metals used.

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