Rhiannon Ingle
The 2024 Olympics has finally commenced today (26 July) and I'm sure people around the globe are beyond buzzing to cheer on their national team as they participate in a whole host of sporting events and activities.
Of course, all competitors are going for gold but have you ever wondered just how much money an Olympic gold medal is actually worth?
Now, not many people know that the prestigious award is actually not made entirely out of solid gold but, instead, is mostly silver.
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The medal weighs 529 grams and over 95.4% of it is actually made of silver, totalling to 505 grams.
According to various reports, 18 grams consists of iron and only the remaining six consists of pure gold which acts as the plating of the medal.
Putting the question of the medal's monetary value to the test, one social media user took to X sharing a screenshot of a Google search which explained: "What's an Olympic gold
medal worth? It's priceless, of course, but it also happens to be worth $820 at current metal prices."
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They captioned the tweet: "An Olympic gold medal wouldn’t even cover my rent."
He joked in a follow-up post: "These poor Olympians we gotta give them Teslas instead or something."
Another X user penned: "I would have to win 7 gold medals to pay for my 2013 Mini Cooper with hail damage."
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A second piped up: "LOL imagine training for the Olympics to get a worthless medal."
And a final X user pointed out: "I don't think they are doing this for money."
Forbes has since confirmed just how much the 2024 Olympic gold medal, which around 10,500 athletes are after, is really worth.
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Now, while the value of the medal can't be measured - given than most of these athletes have dedicated their entire life to pursuing such a goal - the materials of it can.
All medals are reportedly 85 millimetres across and 9.2 millimetres thick and,
according to the outlet, the podium cost of a 2024 Olympic gold medal is approximately $950 - a figure based on the 'spot price' of gold, silver and iron on the morning of 24 July and 'the amount of those materials that are used for the medal'.
While that may not seem like much, it's 'possibly the highest value of any gold medal in the history of the modern games' after flying by the $708 record for the 2012 London Olympics.