Twelve more medals will be draped around swimmers’ necks in the Friday morning session at the Tokyo Aquatics Center. The finals of the women’s 200-meter breaststroke, the men’s 200-meter backstroke, the women’s 100-meter freestyle and the men’s 200-meter individual medley also give viewers the chance to see a familiar image of athletes looking as if they are taking a bite out of their prize.
Why do they bite medals?
This isn’t a practice that’s exclusive to swimmers, of course. The short answer is that the cameras simply love the pose. Photographers and videographers are after what they consider to be a quintessential shot from the Olympics.