The picture of an Olympic athlete biting the gold medal is one that’s as iconic as the Games themselves.
“It’s become an obsession with the photographers,” says David 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.”
Normally, the biting of the gold medal is done by the winning athletes as they pose for pictures for the adoring fans of their home countries to consume.
But in keeping with the theme of the ever-strange 2020 Tokyo Games, the tradition has taken an odd turn.
Japanese pitcher Miu Goto paid a visit to Nagoya, Japan, mayor Takashi Kawamura on August 4 after winning the gold medal over the United States in women’s softball. During the visit, Kawamura asked Goto to put the medal around his neck. He then proceeded to pull down his face mask in order to bite the gold, sparking outrage.
“GOLD MEDAL CONTROVERSY: Japan’s Olympic softball champion Miu Goto is unexpectedly getting a new gold medal after the mayor of Nagoya, Japan grabbed hers, took off his mask, and bit down on it while celebrating her win,” CBS News said on Twitter.
GOLD MEDAL CONTROVERSY: Japan's Olympic softball champion Miu Goto is unexpectedly getting a new gold medal after the mayor of Nagoya, Japan grabbed hers, took off his mask, and bit down on it while celebrating her win. pic.twitter.com/jCPwRABRPh
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 12, 2021
“I would cry if that happened to me,” Naohisa Takato, who won gold for Japan in judo, said in a tweet. “I handle my own gold medal so gently not to scratch it.”
On Thursday, Kawamura apologized for the bizarre move.
“I’m really sorry that I hurt the treasure of the gold medalist,” Kawamura told reporters Thursday.
Though the medal was reportedly undamaged, the mayor said that he did offer to pay for a replacement medal.
It was a particularly strange move by the mayor considering the intensive COVID precautions taken by Japan in order for Tokyo to hold the Olympics and the percentage of the Japanese public that were against the Games being held.
According to The New York Times, a May nationwide poll of Japanese citizens found that 83 percent of those surveyed wanted the Olympics postponed or scrapped.
The Japanese government declared a state of emergency from July 12 to August 22 after an increase in COVID cases in Tokyo. The state of emergency had a large impact on the Games, banning spectators from the majority of Olympic events.
The fear of COVID was so severe, that before the games began, the chief of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee refused to rule out the cancellation of the Games altogether.
“We can’t predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases. So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases,” Toshiro Muto said.
Fortunately, the Tokyo Games went on as planned without more than a few minor COVID-related hiccups.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].