Olympics: Who wins when the athletes triumph?

The last Games where champions wore pure gold around their necks took place in Stockholm 104 years ago. Today, an Olympic gold medal consists of 92.5 percent silver, 6.2 percent copper and 1.3 percent gold. If its worth is measured in weight, then a gold medal from this year's Olympics is worth about US $550.

Stories sell

And yet, the true value of an Olympic medal does not reside in the metal or its worth on the commodity market, but in the athlete who won it and the story they told on their way to fulfilling their goals. The aura surrounding the greatest of champions corresponds to the amount of money wealthy people are willing to pay to get their hands on their medals. It is not the piece of metal that they are buying but rather, a piece of greatness, to become a part of the story which will resonate throughout history.<...