We’re used to the sight of victorious athletes biting their medals, but the Paralympics this year has thrown up a new trend.
You may have noticed winners in Rio holding up their medals to their ears – and there’s a very good reason for it.
Olympic – Timeline | Facebook
Every medal has tiny steel balls inside it so when they’re shaken they make a noise.
And the sound is individual to the colour of the medal, with golds containing 28 balls, compared with 20 in the silver and 16 in the bronze, meaning the podium-toppers can get a louder noise out of their bling than anyone else.
Olympic – Timeline | Facebook
Pretty cool, huh?
It means athletes with visual impairments get a more complete experience from their medals than they would have done otherwise.
And what’s more, they also contain the words “Rio 2016 Paralympic Games” in Braille.
Olympic – Timeline | Facebook
We’re gonna go ahead and call that the best medal we’ve ever seen. Or heard.
