19 Olympics Facts That Will Make You Say "Huh, Weird"
Those gold medals are like, barely gold.
Gold medals are not made of pure gold.
They're actually silver with a gold plating. The last time the gold medals were made of pure gold was 1912.
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The first black athlete to win the marathon event did it barefoot.
Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila was the first black athlete to win gold in the marathon, when he outran everyone in the 1960 Olympics...with no shoes on.
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The first modern Olympics in 1896 didn't even have gold medals.
The top spot got a silver medal and an olive branch, in reference to the original Greek games. Second place got a bronze medal, and third place got absolutely nothing.
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The 1900 Olympics were notoriously disorganized and not well attended.
Some national teams were actually comprised of athletes from multiple different countries.
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