Medals & Medal Ceremonies
There are lists in a lot of places (including this website) of Olympic gold, silver, and medal winners going back to 1896. Those lists must be taken figuratively, because the tradition of awarding a gold medal to the champion, a silver medal for second place, and a bronze medal for third place didn't begin until 1908.
At the first modern Olympics in 1896, only the top two finishers were recognized. The winner received a silver medal and a crown of olive branches, while the second-place finisher was awarded a bronze medal and a crown of laurel. Both were also given certificates, called diplomas, authenticating their performances. In addition, every athlete who took part was given a commemorative medal.
The 1900 Olympics, in Paris, and the 1904 Olympics, in St. Louis, were both very poorly organized. In Paris, rectangular medals were awarded to the winners in some events but not in others. The medals mention the Universal Paris Exhibition to which the Games were attached but say not a word about the Olympics. Various sorts of trophies were also given out to Olympic winners, as well as to winners of other types of competition associated with the exhibition.
The story was pretty much the same four years later, when the games were held in conjunction with the St. Louis World Fair. There was a medal that contained the word "Olympiad," but it was neither gold nor gilded.
Finally, at London in 1908, the modern Olympics became organized along lines that are familiar today, including the formal presentation of medals and diplomas soon after the conclusion of an event.
The International Olympic Committee now spells out a very specific protocol to be followed at medal ceremonies. The IOC also specifies the dimensions and materials for the medals. The host country's organizing committee designs and furnishes medals, but the IOC must approve the design.
The medals must be at least 60 millimeters (2.36 inches) in diamter and 3 millimeters thick. The gold medal is actually made of silver, gilded with a minimum of 6 grams (about 1/4 ounce) of pure gold.
The medal ceremony is supposed to take place as soon as possible after the event. The winner stands on the central step of the podium, with the second-place finisher on the right and the third-place finisher on the left. Their names are announced and the medals are presented by either the IOC president or another IOC member, along with the president or another representative of the sport's international governing body.
The flags of the medalists' countries are raised, with the winner's flag on the central of the three flagpoles, and the national anthem of the gold medalist's nation is played.
In team events, each athlete who has taken part in at least one match or competition in the course of the Olympics receives a medal.
Athletes placing fourth through eighth in an event receive diplomas, including athlete members of teams with those placings.