Bronze medal for the achieved successes: interesting

Gold, silver, bronze - for ordinary people these words mean in the majority only the names of metals. For the athlete, they mean long hours of exhausting training, a huge amount of effort and emotion, and, most importantly, an assessment of all efforts. At any championship there is one who came first, there are those who took the second and third place, and there are those who did not have enough to the cherished pedestal quite a bit. There are many things already said about the winning athletes, but we rarely think about who got the bronze medal. What is the result of the Olympic "bronze" and how is it encouraged, what results did Russia show in Rio, and what prevented them from getting more medals? We'll figure it out in all the "bronze" Olympic nuances.

Manufacturing of medals

Let's start, perhaps, with the awards themselves. Every two years, when winter or summer Olympic games are held, the host country produces dozens of sets of medals. There is an opinion that they are all made of natural metals, but in fact this is not so.

First, each host country changes the composition of medals, adhering to the rules of the Olympic Games. On them gold and silver medals are made of alloys, in which slightly more than 90% of silver, a gold medal is then covered with at least 6 grams of gold. The bronze medal is also covered with this metal, but in fact it is made of alloys. At the same time, their size and weight remain at the discretion of the organizer. But the diameter of the medal should not be less than 8.5 cm, and its thickness - less than 1 cm.

Production Variations

It was interesting to come up with awards at the Olympics in Vancouver: then Canadians used recycled - recycled electric boards, in which, as is known, there is a certain content of precious metals.

Each medal was unique, it had its own form and unique engraving: Canada could afford it, saving essentially on the material for smelting. It is believed that these medals were the cheapest and the most environmentally friendly in the history of the Games.

Awards for medals

The award at the Olympics is not only recognition of sports achievements of an athlete, but also certain material bonuses that an athlete receives as a gift from his country. In ancient times, the winners of the Olympic Games were awarded five hundred gold coins, the sculptors created their growth statues, they could eat free in public places for the rest of their days and, most importantly, also attend theatrical performances, the same Olympic games, for example. Now the prize money has become much more mundane and material.

The country that most "appreciates" its prize-winners is Ukraine: for the bronze medals of the Olympics, athletes receive 55 thousand dollars. On the second place Belarus - here champions are awarded with the sum of 50 thousand dollars, and besides, for another 4 years they receive a scholarship of the president. A pleasant advantage of the Republic is the fact that the state pays all the preparation for the Games, the athletes do not spend a penny. The Thai incentive system is interesting: there the athlete gets a little more than 300 thousand dollars, but not immediately: for 20 years every month he will receive a certain part of this amount. Changed its policy in this regard, China, not so long ago passed to the world practice: before, only the owners of gold medals were awarded here, the rest were given the right to work in sports organizations of the chosen province of the Middle Kingdom. Economically developed European countries, for example, Great Britain, the Netherlands and France, have completely given up the material award to the Olympians: it is implied that the champion will give his money for the development of sports in his country, so the authorities do not even care to pay them first, and then Again pick up.

And, probably, to complete this "material" section, it is worth mentioning the cost of the award itself. As already mentioned above, it varies from country to country and depends on the composition and design of the medal. The Rio medal, for example, cost only $ 3: it was made from 97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin.

Pain of loss

It is impossible to describe the emotions of an athlete, on whose neck the coveted reward is, impossible words. But it is even more difficult to describe what the athlete is experiencing, losing his medal. The echo of the doping scandals was still not abated, because of which many athletes were forced to part with the already existing awards and could not go to new competitions.

According to the results of the re-examination of samples for doping, some gold, silver and bronze medals of Russia were seized. So, Anna Chicherova (high jump), Ekaterina Volkova (running with obstacles), Nadezhda Yevstyukhina (weightlifting) lost the Beijing bronze.

Prohibition of participation

Continuing the theme of bitter disappointments: athletes were not admitted to participation in the Olympics at all because of the ban of the International associations of athletics federations.

Also, two weightlifters could not go to Rio - they were reminded of a violation of anti-doping legislation in earlier games. For four more athletes, there was a disappearance of positive doping tests - in this way, and they were not allowed to the Games.

Unrealized opportunities

Journalists estimated that due to the ban on the participation of some athletes in the games in Rio, Russia lost at least 4 medals, this is not counting the previously removed light and weightlifters: Elena Isinbayeva (pole vaulting), Sergei Shubenkov (sprint), Maria Kuchina (High jump), Alexander Dyachenko (rowing in kayak), Elena Lashmanova (walking) - the results of some of these athletes exceed the champions of the Olympics. Yes, Russia would not be able to catch up with China, but an additional gold, silver or bronze medal of the Olympic Games in Rio could improve the team's place in the overall standings.

Fight to the last!

After such a sad topic, it's worth remembering the curiosities of the Olympics in Rio. An amazing case occurred in a duel, at the price of which was a bronze medal in the fight in the weight category up to 65 kg. Fighting for the award Ihtior Navruzov (Uzbekistan) and Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia).

It was impossible to predict the result to the last second: yes, the Mongol was in the lead, but the Uzbek did not have only one point to draw, after which the verdict would be carried out by the judges. So it happened: the athlete equalized the score, and the referees awarded him another point, thereby deciding the outcome of the fight.

It is easy to imagine the reaction of a Mongol who so confidently went to the medal and lost it at one point. But the athlete's trainers interfered: they rushed to the judges, trying to prove that the very same score was wrong and demanding a review of the results. When the referees refused to review the results, one of the coaches in a protest broke up to the shorts on the Olympic carpet! The other was limited to getting rid of the top of his "toilet".

Discouraged judges still agreed to a video replay. According to its results, the victory still remained with Uzbekistan. The Mongolian wrestler found the strength to shake hands with his opponent, although, of course, it was clear how difficult it was for him. Trainers, who in the process of "striptease" judges even showed red cards, begging to interrupt the performance, were taken off the carpet.

Team Results

Despite all the obstacles, to prevent many athletes from participating in the games in Rio, Russia took the 4th place in the team event. The best results were shown by wrestlers who brought nine awards to the team asset, of which 4 were gold medals. Fencers - seven medals and also 4 gold ones - proved to be not worse. Quite unexpected bronze Olympic medal in the team all-around belongs to sports gymnast Aliya Mustafina, in her asset there is silver in the individual competition.

In total, at the Olympics in Rio, Russia won 56 medals, of which 19 were gold, 18 silver and 19 bronze.

Conclusion

What is a bronze medal? For some, pain and disappointment: after all, you could do a little more and be at the highest step of the pedestal with the coveted gold; For others - happiness: the recognition of merit and the honor of being among the best athletes of the world is something for which it is worthwhile to train more and more; For the third - the incentive: having reached one height, you can safely go to conquer the other. Yes, it is less valuable than gold, but at the same time, its merits should not be diminished. The mere thought of how much labor is invested in this reward makes one feel respect for its owners. Remember that a bronze medal can become much more significant than any gold. After all, the main thing is the result, not its encouragement.