Why are the top 3 finishers recognized? Why not top 2 or top 9?

someone's a sore 4th placer

Three shall be the number thou shalt recognize, and the number thou shalt recognize shall be three. Four, though shalt not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five, is right out.

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Followed by everyone else.

HardLoper wrote:

Three shall be the number thou shalt recognize, and the number thou shalt recognize shall be three. Four, though shalt not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five, is right out.

+3

Comes from Greek mythology, they represent the three ages of man so it was used in the Olympics which everyone copies.

we could have a lead medal for fourth or maybe mercury

Olympiad wrote:

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Followed by everyone else.

Olympiad wrote:

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Followed by everyone else.

Add rock, paper, scissors to make it 6

HardLoper wrote:

Three shall be the number thou shalt recognize, and the number thou shalt recognize shall be three. Four, though shalt not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five, is right out.

Bless ye, Brother Maynard.

win

place

show

what else is there?

Like anything, it's a completely arbitrary number. Why is the marathon not 26.4 miles? Why not run the 105 meter or the 812 meter? If this is what you spend your time worrying about, I feel sorry for you. Now if it was just a question that popped up during a run, well then I love random thoughts on the run.

Olympiad wrote:

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Followed by everyone else.

E-zackly. The custom of recognizing 3 top athletes in each event was begun at the 1904 Summer Olympics.

That's just how it is done son. Now move along and stop asking questions.

Justine Trubishernixley wrote:

Seems a bit arbitrary that the top 3 are on the 'podium'.

If you're not first you are crap.

The podium just fuels the 'you are all winners' mentality.

Olympics should be gold only. 2nd and 3rd are losers just like 47th place.

-1/10

You would LOVE to have an Olympic silver medal. Or metal...

A Ham wrote:

Like anything, it's a completely arbitrary number. Why is the marathon not 26.4 miles?

This one is easy. It isn't arbitrary. It started with a distance from the greek guy, then it needed to be 42.195km due to the finish in the 1908 olympics.

Who decided to use 1/4, 1/2, 1mi is artbitrary. Why not 1/5?

It's Adam and Eve, the three stage lines of a joke, and the four directions of the wind. Polytheism, basically. Pentagons and hexagrams get left out. Seven is lucky, but otherwise nobody's favorite.

Magic numbers tend to be two, three, or four.

Two is a binary relationship. On or off. He or she. Hot or cold. Fast or slow. Gay or straight. (Ahem.) Male or female. (Yikes.)

Three is triangulation: you, her, and the other dude. Three pillars. Three is stability. But it's also first, second, and third. Win, place, and show. Win, lose, or draw. Too big, too little, or just right. Three is the foundation of a joke. An Italian, a Polack, and a Jew bellied up to the bar.

Four is the four humours (spleen, bile, choler, and melancholy). The four winds, based on the four directions.

Three feels more solid and inevitable. Four feels like....well, like a crowd. Three's company.

Why is it that the top 8 competitors in an Olympic event receive an Olympic diploma? Why not only 7 or 5 or the 3 medalists? Why not 10?

When lanes numbered six half got medals this defined the upper crust.