Olympic Medals: Not All Gold, But They Glitter
Whoever wins a gold medal at the Olympic Games finds a treasure, but not in a bullion sense, as Olympic gold medals are in fact not made of gold. If that had been the case, the total value of medals awarded at London 2012 would have been approximately €35 million. The 1912 Stockholm Olympics were the last games when medals were fully minted with gold. Today's gold medals are in fact 92.5% silver, with only 6 grams of gold going into their coinage. At the upcoming Rio Olympics, medals will also contain a percentage of recycled metal in line with the sustainability targets set by the organizing committee. On the other hand, the silver medal is actually made of silver, while the bronze medal is largely made of copper.
However, winning a gold medal or any other Olympic medal has a value that goes well beyond its intrinsic metallic value. Athletes receive adequate economic rewards for their victorious sacrifice that gives luster to their country across the world. In London 2012 such rewards varied wildly among participating countries: it was €600,000 for Singaporean athletes, €140,000 for Italians, €20,000 for US athletes, and zero pennies for UK athletes. The latter could seem like a punishment, but it is not, for an Olympic victory is a starting point rather than a final destination. The medal carries with it two big dreams. Athletes obtain immediate media attention that they can exploit with sponsors and for other commercial opportunities. National federations, and therefore in our case CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee, can count on winning athletes to become sports ambassadors, having a positive impact on the diffusion and practice of sports. Among Italian gold medalists, once can think of the first two gold medals won by Alberto Tomba (Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics), the gold medal in archery by Marco Galiazzo (Athens 2004), the 6 gold medals won by fencer Valentina Vezzali (from Atlanta 1996 to London 2012), the incredible gold medal in Taekwondo won by Carlo Molfetta (London 2012), and so on. Each of these medals was oxygen for Italian sports and became a vehicle for promoting sports in the eyes of children and young people who want to emulate their idols, while generating a flow of sponsorship agreements. This is especially important for sporting disciplines that, unlike soccer, volleyball or basketball, get little TV exposure.
An Olympic victory is the moment you recoup an investment made over the four preceding years, but it is also when you start planning for the next Olympic cycle. Many athletes get their qualifications just a few weeks before the Games. Thus, there needs to be an appropriate strategy to train young athletes from one edition of Olympics to another, having the right vision to monitor the careers of the most experienced athletes, as well as support the most talented and impatient young shots. Given that an athlete does one or two Olympics on average, the pressure in training is immense to outrun and outscore the opponent during the competition, even if it is by just 1/100 of a second or a single point.
The breadth of disciplines and the selection of athletes make the Olympics a sensational global event. In 2012, there were more than 900 million TV viewers watching the opening ceremony of the London games. This also poses some ethical risks and challenges for management. Above, there is always the temptation to use prohibited substances, a fact which leads to the doping scandals that with depressing regularity disrupt Olympic rankings, even years after the fact. Athletics are particularly at risk, because the effort required is great but the chances to win and have international commercial success are slim. The latest is the alleged use of controlled substances by the Russian team, creating an international scandal on the lack of proper scrutiny by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the national Olympic federation. The case also raises the issue of the questionable ethics of athletes and trainers who decide to gamble with their lives and end up spoiling the passion of millions of fans and supporters.
Taking part in the Olympics is the occasion of a lifetime, but also the opportunity for a whole country to spread positive values ​​among young people and civil society. Organizing the Olympics gives a boost to the host country's medal tally, so much that China, for the first and only time, managed to win more gold medals than the US during Beijing 2008 (51 vs 36). Organizing the Games brings additional tourism and business to a country. Olympics also generate positive spillovers for all the people practicing sports: the whole country is mobilized to win medals and this increases the welfare of all practitioners. The legacy of major sporting events always goes beyond money and profit, for there is nothing as special as winning an Olympic medal.