What legends! Katarina Witt, Bernhard Langer, Franz Beckenbauer, Dirk Nowitzki, Steffi Graf and Michael Schumacher – all of them were exceptional athletes and stars during their active days. You have achieved something unique, thrilled millions of viewers in front of the television and moved them to tears. As a thank you, they were given Olympic gold medals, trophies and certificates – and Michael Schumacher shook the champagne bottle exuberantly, as is customary in the industry.
No doubt stylish and solid rewards, and in Formula 1 races there is even an individual trophy for each victory. But did they receive the award that is worthy of their exceptional achievements? Precious, unique, distinctive?
Is it up to Ingo Wolf, from Osmium-Institut, top athletes should hold a completely different piece of jewelry in their hands after the triumph: an honor cup with osmium. “Everyone knows bronze, gold and silver. And bronze isn’t even a precious metal. But what is osmi-um?” many may ask. In fact, osmium is only known to a few. Its properties read like an eternal list of the best in the world: it cannot be counterfeited and is the most precious precious metal, it is the rarest non-radioactive element and the densest element in the universe. No wonder it is significantly more expensive than gold and platinum.
Osmium – the precious metal of superlatives
“Bronze – silver – gold – osmium” could soon be the motto at award ceremonies in view of these superlatives – and put gold and silver in their place. As the star of the precious metals, osmium could stand for the eternal records in sport, to a certain extent Olympic and Wimbledon victory plus Oscar squared. Wolf’s idea: athletes should receive the trophies with osmium if, for example, they have broken a seemingly endless record, such as the men’s 100 meter sprint (9.58 seconds, of course by Usain Bolt) or the world record in the long jump (8 .95 meters, Mike Powell).
© Osmium-Institut
However, as a challenge cup. If the mark is broken, the new record holder gets it, which can take a while given the extreme performance and is then all the more “special”: Mike Powell achieved his record in 1991. He broke the 23-year-old world record by Bob Beamon (8.90 meters ), which appeared to contemporaries as from another planet during its leap of the century in 1968. As the most abrasion-resistant, rarest and most valuable precious metal, osmium does justice to such world sensations – which are naturally becoming ever rarer.
Support from sponsors
So that this idea doesn’t stop there, Wolf is now approaching the major sports associations. He wants them to introduce the Osmium Cups. In view of the 30,000 to 60,000 euros in material value for the osmium discs used alone – plus a license fee – Wolf imagines that they will be financed by the global sponsors. Wolf wants to start a run that will finally give world-class athletes the recognition they deserve for their extraordinary achievements. Because up until now, world records have only existed in disdainful databases. “In the future, the top stars could also receive the ultimate gem for their excellence – an all-time cup,” says Wolf. After all, osmium is also internationally regarded as the “eternal precious metal”.
Excellence for excellent performance
Added to this is the extreme rarity value: With only one cubic meter of recoverable osmium reserves, no precious metal and no other non-radioactive metal is rarer than osmium. And no other metal threatens to run out so quickly. Almost needless to say: The purity of osmium is also exorbitantly high at more than 99.9995 percent and might be a record.
The Osmium Cup would then not only be a symbol of excellence in sport, but also a sign of the incredible achievements that people around the world can achieve. With its rarity and its high value, it represented a unique award that is only given to the best of the best: “Osmium should become the Elative of the record world – a superlative without any comparison. It stands for the fastest lap times on racetracks as well as for the best performances on golf courses.”
For Wolf it’s high time to introduce new recognitions for supreme deeds in the stadium, on the pitch, in the boxing ring or on the dash down the valley, and think of sports greats in the guise of Jesse Owens, Pelé, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Lindsey Vonn or Isabell value Not to mention world footballer and world champion Messi.
Wolf also sees the IOC as having an obligation here: “No question – from a sporting point of view, there is nothing bigger than an Olympic victory. But silver and gold awards, let alone copper alloy bronze, are no longer appropriate for world-class victories.” Especially since an Olympic gold medal only has a plating of just six grams of gold. Given the importance and strength of the IOC, there is clearly more to it. One could add one to the already fabulous Olympic victories: an osmium cup for fabulous world records.