Is winning a silver medal at the Olympics really a letdown? Why the way we talk about 2nd place matters.

Everyone loves a redemption story. So when Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera won gold Tuesday in the women's all-around gymnastics final, it makes sense that the narrative was focused on Team USA’s comeback after placing second in Tokyo three years ago. Their victory “helped erase memories of the silver,” wrote the New York Times. Other outlets called the 2021 performance “disappointing.” Biles — who withdrew from some Tokyo events due to mental health struggles — has been centered in many of these stories. While she’s been praised for emerging as the most decorated gymnast in history and leading her team to gold in 2024, Biles can’t escape references to having previously “derailed the team’s gold-medal hopes” in 2021.

Team USA swimming has received similar treatment in coverage of the events that have taken place so far in Paris. Following Bobby Finke’s silver medal in the men’s 800-meter freestyle on Tuesday, NPR published a piece titled “The once-mighty U.S. swim team sinks in early Olympic races, winning only two golds.”

The history of the two teams and competitions is different, but the messaging is the same — silver, apparently, just isn’t good enough. But why?

The relationship between Olympic medals and success

“We have multiple constructions or versions of what it means to win and to lose,” Francesco Duina, professor of sociology at Bates College and author of Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession, tells Yahoo Life. At the Olympics, different teams and even individuals are subjected to different standards of success based on set expectations.

Winning isn’t defined by the color of the medal in that case, but instead by the ability to “fulfill the expectations as they were set,” says Duina. “Anything short of that is considered a failure.”

By that measure, third place is a success for U.S. men’s gymnastics, a team who hadn’t earned an Olympic medal in 16 years. The first-ever Olympic medal for the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team is also historic and exciting. Both outcomes exceeded expectations, at least as they were set by the general public.

The narrative around the women’s gymnastics team both in Tokyo and Paris stems from this as well. Their performance in 2021 fell short of the expectations set by gold medal wins in 2012 and 2016. Leading up to 2024, the gymnastics team was said to be on a “redemption tour” to return to that standard of success.

But there’s still trouble in putting a negative connotation to the silver medal, especially considering Biles’s openness about the mental health struggles she was experiencing at the time, says Imani M. Cheers, a professor of media and public affairs at the George Washington University who specializes in the representation of Black women in media.

“I find it ridiculous for anyone to criticize someone who has more Olympic medals in gymnastics than any other person in history, someone who is doing literally death-defying feats in her sport, someone who is then brave enough to not only prioritize but also discuss her mental health and the reason that it’s important to prioritize said mental health,” Cheers tells Yahoo Life, noting that even as Biles won gold, she’s faced criticism for things as trivial as her hair. “I think she deserves not only grace, but a lot of gratitude.”

Beyond media framing and public perception, how do the athletes themselves feel about bringing back a medal that isn't gold? A 2016 study analyzing the emotions of Olympic athletes on the podium revealed that there are multiple factors that impact the happiness of a silver or bronze medalist. Some instances show that those in third place are happier than those in second. “Silver medalists may think about how they are disappointed not to have made a gold, and bronze medalists think about how lucky they are to be on the podium at all,” the paper suggests.

Context, like how close the scores of each medalist were and how they felt they performed in competition, can influence those emotions as well. For the record, Biles appeared to be nothing but proud of her team’s silver medal in 2021 — and their 2024 gold.

How can we change the narrative?

First and foremost, it’s important to celebrate an athlete or team’s present accomplishment and embrace the journey that brought them here.

“At this moment, where Simone was able to lead her team, lead her country to victory and secure the gold medal, for anyone to say anything negative is just a hater because there is nothing negative that could be said,” says Cheers. “There's also nothing negative to slight or try to erase a silver medal, which is a huge accomplishment.”

Secondly, try adopting the Olympian’s own standard of success, which nowadays has little to do with medals. “I feel like success is just what I make it. I’ve been successful competing at Olympic trials, making the Paris Olympic team, so we’ll see from there on out,” said Biles after winning the U.S. Olympic trials earlier this summer. “We do it for ourselves and the love for the sport and the love for representing the U.S. So we’re going to go out there and we’re going to do our best.”

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