How much does a gold medal at the Paris Olympics really cost?

Paris Olympics 2024 are in full swing, and based on their performances, athletes from all over the world are winning bronze, silver, and gold medals.

Winning any medal is an honour for any athlete, but the ‘gold medals’ given to the athletes at the Olympic Games stand out because real gold is used to manufacture them.

According to International Olympic Committee (IOC) standards, a gold medal uses 92.5 per cent silver and 6 per cent pure gold. Pure silver is used in the silver medal, and copper, iron, and zinc are used in the bronze medal.

A gold medal awarded to the winning athletes at the Paris Olympics weighs 523 grams, uses 6 grams of pure gold, and costs 1,027 US dollars (about 298,000 PKR).

Similarly, the silver medal awarded to the athletes in the Paris Olympics Games weighs 525 grams, is made of pure silver, and costs more than 535 US dollars (approximately one lakh 55 thousand PKR).

The bronze medal produced for the Paris Olympics weighs 455 grams, is made of copper, iron and zinc, and costs 4.6 US dollars (approximately 1,330 PKR).

In the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, the winning athletes were given ‘gold medals’ made of pure gold.