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With the 2024 Olympic Games in full swing in the French capital, athletes are doing more than just competing and training.
As the event only takes place once every four years, Olympians also take the opportunity to take part in various traditions that aim to commemorate what they have worked their entire lives to achieve. Although the traditions may seem unconventional, most of them date back decades.
Pin trading
Similar to the tradition of pin trading at Disney theme parks, Olympic athletes also participate in pin trading at the Olympic Village. The tradition dates back to one of the first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, when Greeks were given cloth pins featuring the national anthem of a competing country.
Every year, new pins designed by countries, teams or sponsoring brands appear. The tradition was originally reserved for athletes only, but nowadays anyone attending the games can receive a lanyard to fill with different pins.
On social media, Olympic athletes have begun showing off their collections, and this year's most prominent collectors include American rugby player Ilona Maher and Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.
olympic rings tattoos
Some athletes want to make sure their experience at the games is one they will never forget, so spectators will notice that some of the Olympians have all five Olympic rings tattooed somewhere on their body.
Chris Jacobs, a swimmer who won three medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, is the athlete known for starting this tradition after noticing that some of the Canadian swimmers around him had tattoos of his country's flag. Although Jacobs' original version of the tattoo was small and hidden by his swimsuit, he gradually made it larger and placed it on his bicep.
The trend spread to other Olympic swimmers, such as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. Over time, other sports also began to get the tattoo, with Olympic athlete Nevin Harrison and American canoeist and gymnast Jordan Chiles debuting ring tattoos.
Teething medals
Another classic Olympic souvenir is reserved specifically for those who come in first, second or third place in their respective events. During medal ceremonies and the celebrations afterward, fans may notice athletes seeming to bite their medals.
This custom, which has been practiced by Olympians such as Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook, is technically a relic of the past, as biting gold was an ancient way of determining whether a piece of gold was authentic or not. Gold is softer than other medals, so if you bite into it and your teeth are visible, the medal is more likely to be real gold.
However, nowadays athletes tend to bite their medals out of tradition, rather than because of the content of the medals. Most of the current Olympic medals are made of 90 percent silver and about six grams of real gold. This year, the medals also contain a small piece of the Eiffel Tower.
Short Position Trading
One of the most specific traditions seen during this year’s Olympics was that of rugby players, who were seen exchanging their shorts. Normally, after a match, teams tend to change jerseys as a sign of sportsmanship to the other team, as if to say, “Good game.”
But this year, Stephen Tomasin of the United States rugby team and Rodrigo Isgro of the Argentine team exchanged shortsAfter the U.S. loss, Tomasin wanted to honor the tradition of the swap, but he also wanted to keep his jersey as a souvenir of the competition, according to a representative for the player. The next best option was to swap shorts.
