"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2021-09-05T12:42:12Z"
data-video-section="sport"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2021/09/05/jessica-long-paralympic-swimmer-team-us-29-medals-tokyo-2020-spt-intl.cnn"
data-branding-key="olympics-tokyo-2020"
data-video-slug="jessica long paralympic swimmer team us 29 medals tokyo 2020 spt intl"
data-first-publish-slug="jessica long paralympic swimmer team us 29 medals tokyo 2020 spt intl"
data-video-tags="2020 tokyo olympics,asia,continents and regions,disability and society,disabled persons,east asia,japan,olympics,paralympics,society,special olympics,sports and recreation,sports events,summer olympics,tokyo,wheelchair and disability sports"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
29-time Paralympic medalist Jessica Long reflects on the successes of Tokyo 2020
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2021-09-01T09:25:04Z"
data-video-section="sport"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2021/09/01/haven-faith-shepherd-paralympics-from-bomb-victim-to-blessed-tokyo-spt-intl.cnn"
data-branding-key="olympics-tokyo-2020"
data-video-slug="haven faith shepherd paralympics from bomb victim to blessed tokyo spt intl"
data-first-publish-slug="haven faith shepherd paralympics from bomb victim to blessed tokyo spt intl"
data-video-tags="asia,bombings,bombs and explosive devices,continents and regions,disability and society,disabled persons,international relations and national security,national security,paralympics,society,southeast asia,sports and recreation,sports events,suicide bombings,terrorism,terrorism and counter-terrorism,terrorist attacks,unrest, conflicts and war,vietnam,weapons and arms,wheelchair and disability sports"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Paralympian Haven Shepherd on surviving a family suicide and the 'gift' of being an amputee
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2021-08-31T07:03:36Z"
data-video-section="sport"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2021/08/18/david-brown-fastest-blind-athlete-paralympics-profile-tokyo-2020-spt-intl-lon-orig.cnn"
data-branding-key="olympics-tokyo-2020"
data-video-slug="david brown fastest blind athlete paralympics profile tokyo 2020 spt intl lon orig"
data-first-publish-slug="david brown fastest blind athlete paralympics profile tokyo 2020 spt intl lon orig"
data-video-tags="2020 tokyo olympics,asia,continents and regions,disability and society,disabled persons,diseases and disorders,east asia,eye disorders and injuries,health and medical,japan,olympics,paralympics,society,sports and recreation,sports events,summer olympics,tokyo,track and field,vision impairment,wheelchair and disability sports"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
The fastest blind man in the world aims for Tokyo 2020 and beyond
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2021-08-26T06:20:31Z"
data-video-section="sport"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2021/08/26/tokyo-paralympics-tatyana-mcfadden-intv-wang-hnk-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key="olympics-tokyo-2020"
data-video-slug="Tokyo Paralympics Tatyana McFadden intv wang hnk vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="Tokyo Paralympics Tatyana McFadden intv wang hnk vpx"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,disability and society,disabled persons,health and medical,health care,medical devices and equipment,paralympics,society,sports and recreation,sports events,wheelchair and disability sports"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
From an orphan to a legendary racer: Tatyana McFadden talks to CNN
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2021-08-24T10:18:41Z"
data-video-section="sport"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2021/08/20/beatrice-de-lavalette-paralympic-equestrian-dressage-brussels-terror-attack-spt-intl.cnn"
data-branding-key="olympics-tokyo-2020"
data-video-slug="beatrice de lavalette paralympic equestrian dressage brussels terror attack spt intl"
data-first-publish-slug="beatrice de lavalette paralympic equestrian dressage brussels terror attack spt intl"
data-video-tags="2020 tokyo olympics,air transportation,airports,asia,belgium,brussels,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,continents and regions,disability and society,disabled persons,east asia,equestrian sports,europe,international relations and national security,japan,national security,olympics,paralympics,society,sports and recreation,sports events,summer olympics,terrorism,terrorism and counter-terrorism,terrorist attacks,tokyo,transportation and warehousing,unrest, conflicts and war,western europe,wheelchair and disability sports"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Beatrice de Lavalette lost her legs in a terror attack. Now, she's competing in the Paralympics
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2021-08-25T11:02:22Z"
data-video-section="sport"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2021/08/25/chuck-aoki-wheelchair-rugby-paralympics-tokyo-2020-spt-intl.cnn"
data-branding-key="olympics-tokyo-2020"
data-video-slug="chuck aoki wheelchair rugby paralympics tokyo 2020 spt intl"
data-first-publish-slug="chuck aoki wheelchair rugby paralympics tokyo 2020 spt intl"
data-video-tags="2020 tokyo olympics,asia,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,continents and regions,disability and society,disabled persons,east asia,health and medical,health care,japan,medical devices and equipment,olympics,paralympics,society,sports and recreation,sports events,sports organizations and teams,summer olympics,team usa,tokyo,wheelchair and disability sports"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Chuck Aoki: Team USA wheelchair rugby star on Tokyo 2020
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2021-08-03T12:42:43Z"
data-video-section="sport"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2021/08/03/simone-biles-bronze-medal-balance-beam-final-tokyo-olympics-2020-presser-sot-vpx.ioc"
data-branding-key="olympics-tokyo-2020"
data-video-slug="simone biles bronze medal balance beam final tokyo olympics 2020 presser sot vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="simone biles bronze medal balance beam final tokyo olympics 2020 presser sot vpx"
data-video-tags="2020 tokyo olympics,asia,continents and regions,east asia,gymnastics,japan,olympics,simone biles,sports and recreation,sports events,sports figures,summer olympics,tokyo"
data-details="">
The sight of a jubilant Olympian standing atop the podium after being victorious in their discipline with a gold medal between their teeth is an iconic one.
We’ve seen it numerous times at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games already, across a host of disciplines.
The official Tokyo 2020 account even went as far on Sunday to try to remind people that the medals are not, in fact, edible.
“We just want to officially confirm that the #Tokyo2020 medals are not edible,” it said.
Swiss cyclist Marlen Reusser poses for a photograph and bites her silver medal after the women's individual time trial.
Tim de Waele/Getty Images
“Our medals are made from material recycled from electronic devices donated by the Japanese public. So, you don’t have to bite them … but we know you still will.”
But why do these victorious athletes decide to celebrate their coronation by pretending to take a bite out of their gold medals?
David Wallechinsky, Executive Committee Member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, told CNN in 2012 that it’s probably an attempt to satisfy the media.
“It’s become an obsession with the photographers,” says Wallechinsky, co-author of “The Complete Book of the Olympics.” “I think they look at it as an iconic shot, as something that you can probably sell. I don’t think it’s something the athletes would probably do on their own.”
The phenomenon is not exclusive to the Olympics though.
Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has become famous for looking like he wants to take a chunk out of the trophies he wins, in particular the Coupe des Mousquetaires – the French Open men’s singles trophy – he’s become so acquainted with.
Nadal bites the Coupe des Mousquetaires following victory at the French Open.
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Keeping it safe
Victorious athletes across the Olympic spectrum have gone to different lengths to find a place for their medals.
Team GB’s Tom Daley, who won the men’s synchronized 10m diving competition with his partner Matty Lee on Monday, knitted a pouch to keep his gold medal safe while he was in Tokyo.
Daley, who took up crocheting over lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, posted on Instagram that he had made the holder to “prevent it getting scratched.”
For Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic, who won gold in the men’s individual time trial, he admitted the medal itself surprised him.
“Actually, it’s quite a heavy thing, but it’s beautiful. I’m super proud and happy,” he told the media.
Gold medalist Lasha Bekauri of Georgia nibbling his prize during the medal ceremony for the judo men's -90kg contest.
FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
In 2008, Team USA footballer Christie Rampone told the Tampa Bay Times that her array of medals was hidden amongst the pots and pans in her house as she believed they would be the last places someone might look.
During his early days at the Olympics, Michael Phelps came up with some innovative methods to transport his medals around.
In a “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper in 2012, Phelps said he kept his eight gold medals from the 2008 Beijing Games in a traveling makeup case wrapped in a grey T-shirt.
Given he is the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals, Phelps might have to adopt a new method to house them.
However, not all athletes have held onto their Olympic keepsakes.
Superstar boxer Wladimir Klitschko told CNN that he sold the gold medal he won at the 1996 Atlanta Games for $1 million, with the funds going to the Klitschko Brothers foundation – a charity set up by him and his brother Vitali to help impoverished children in their home nation of Ukraine.
“We care about education and sport, that is the key in any children’s life,” Wladimir said.
“If they have knowledge, they can succeed with that in their adult life and sport gives them the rules – how to respect your opponent, how to respect the rules.
“It is always in life like that, you go down but you have to get up, and sport gives you this great lesson.”
US swimmer Anthony Ervin auctioned off his 2000 Olympic gold medal on eBay to aid survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
![Gold medallist Oksana Masters of the US celebrates on the podium after competing in the women's cycling road individual H4-5 time trial during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at the Fuji International Speedway in Oyama on August 31, 2021. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [August 31] instead of [August 30]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/210903163129-oksana-masters-video-tease.jpg?q=x_85,y_8,h_2190,w_3891,c_crop/w_250)
