What Are Olympic Gold Medals Made Of?

Are Olympic gold medals made of gold? Yes, but they haven't been solid gold for almost a century. The medals are designed by the Olympics Committee in each host city, but the designers have to follow a few minimum guidelines:

• all medals must be at least 60mm in diameter and 3mm thick
• gold and silver medals must be made from 92.5 percent silver
• gold medals must be plated with at least six grams of gold.

Some medals for recent games have been larger. Like the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. The gold and silver medals awarded there were the heaviest ever created, measuring 85mm in diameter and 10mm thick and weighing in at 20 ounces.

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