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Athlete To Have Olympic Medal Replaced After It Was Bitten By Local Mayor

Athlete To Have Olympic Medal Replaced After It Was Bitten By Local Mayor

The mayor couldn't resist taking a chomp on that 'appetising' Gold Medal

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

Olympic gold medallist Miu Goto is set to receive a new gold medal after the local mayor took a bite out of hers. Watch the mayor in action:

Maybe he thought it was chocolate wrapped in foil or, most probably, he was just following the trend of chomping on medals.

Goto won a softball gold medal at this year's tournament after being part of the Japanese team that defeated the US 2-0, which was a rematch of the 2008 Beijing final.

Instagram/@miugoto_18

Since the incident, Takashi Kawamura, mayor of Nagoya in Japan, has apologised and claimed that the medal was undamaged whilst still offering to pay for a replacement.

On Thursday, organisers from Tokyo 2020, said that the International Olympic Committee (IMC) would sort out a replacement as well as covering all costs.

Instagram/@miugoto_18

It didn't take long for 'Germ Medal' began trending on social media in Japan.

One user wrote: "Wha? I watched the video and I heard a 'clink' of his teeth hitting the medal.

"I would treat my gold medal so delicately I can't imagine how big Goto's heart is that she wouldn't get angry. I would have cried."

Whilst a second user added: "I don't know the situation or the relationship between those two, but besides the disrespect to the athlete, why would you bite someone else's property in the middle of a pandemic?

"Even at the ceremony we have to put the medals on ourselves for infection control. Sorry, I just don't get what he was doing."

A final user concluded: "It is unfortunate that he was unable to feel admiration and respect for the athlete.

"And it is extremely regrettable that he was unable to give consideration to infection prevention."

But have you ever wondered why athletes actually bite their medals?

Well, with gold famously being a malleable metal, biting down on it was an easy way of determining whether or not it was real.

Speaking to CNN, David Wallechinsky, president of the International Society of Olympic Historians, said: "It's become an obsession with the photographers.

"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."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: SPORT, World News, olympics