Six-panel comic contrasting gold medalist celebrations with bronze medalist chugging champagne from the bottle

Bronze Medal

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Published October 29, 2026

Bronze Medal, also known as Third Place Celebration, started as a February 2020 comic by Russian artist 3palec showing a man ecstatically celebrating third place while the gold and silver medalists stand grim. Reddit users turned the illustration into an object-labeling format within a week, casting the overjoyed bronze winner as whatever misses the mark. By August 2021, Twitter users were recreating the comic with photographs of Brazilian swimmer Bruno Fratus celebrating his Olympic bronze medal.

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Overview

Bronze Medal posts work through object labeling, where the dejected gold and silver medalists represent the deserved winner while the champagne-chugging third-placer stands in for a misguided but delighted alternative2. Edits typically label the bronze winner as a cheaper option, a flawed historical figure, or a small achievement someone celebrates anyway, while gold and silver carry the thing meme-makers think actually earns the praise4. The tone is sarcastic, mocking the overenthusiasm of being thrilled with third place.

Early edits leaned into pop-culture and history jokes, since both lent themselves to third-place-but-celebrated setups24. Gamers adapted the comic for streak and loot celebrations6, and Twitter users deployed it as a reaction to minor wins or near-misses7.

Origin & Background

Platform
Facebook (source illustration) / Reddit (viral spread)
Creator
3palec
Date
2020

Russian artist 3palec drew the four-panel comic titled "Never give up!" and uploaded it to Facebook on February 7, 20201. The illustration shows a bronze medalist biting his medal, kissing the award presenter, popping a large champagne bottle, and chugging straight from it while the gold and silver winners stand stone-faced beside him on the podium3. 3palec's original post collected over 41,000 shares before the image moved onto Reddit and Imgur, where users began repurposing it as an object-labeling template3.

How It Spread

BeepBoopAnv posted the first known meme adaptation on r/PrequelMemes on February 15, 2020, applying object labels as a comment on relative quality within the Star Wars prequels2. The upload collected over 5,100 upvotes. One day later, Godzilla_original brought the format to r/HistoryMemes with Christopher Columbus cast as the bronze winner for reaching America fourth, a post that collected over 40,000 upvotes and 600 comments4.

Imgur user ILiekrocks remixed the comic on February 18, 2020 as a reaction to posts that fall short of the front page, viewed over 114,000 times5. By March 11, 2020, Gaia_Maiko's r/gaming version captioned "When you finally get a streak" passed 86,000 upvotes6. Twitter adoption followed in April 2020, with user Himanshoes posting it in reply to another tweet7.

The format saw a notable real-world revival during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, when Brazilian swimmer Bruno Fratus's third-place celebration for the Men's 50m freestyle got recreated as a photographic version of 3palec's comic, including Fratus biting his medal and kissing his wife3.

Timeline

2020-02-07

Russian artist 3palec uploads the original "Never give up!" illustration to Facebook, collecting over 41,000 shares.

2020-02-15

Redditor BeepBoopAnv posts the first known meme adaptation on r/PrequelMemes.

2020-02-16

Godzilla_original posts the Christopher Columbus version on r/HistoryMemes, upvoted over 40,000 times.

2020-02-18

Imgur user ILiekrocks uploads a reaction-image variant about posts missing the front page.

2020-03-11

Gaia_Maiko posts a gaming-themed version on r/gaming that passes 86,000 upvotes.

2020-04-18

Twitter user Himanshoes uses the format in a reply, marking cross-platform spread.

2021-08-01

Brazilian swimmer Bruno Fratus's bronze medal celebration at the Tokyo Olympics gets recreated as a photographic version of the comic on Twitter.

How to Use This Meme

Making a Bronze Medal post typically involves labeling the three medalists so the ecstatic third-placer mocks whatever you're calling out. A common convention pairs genuine quality on the gold and silver tiers with a cheap, flawed, or ridiculous alternative on bronze. Edits often add text labels directly onto the medals or above each figure, keeping 3palec's original artwork intact underneath.

Frequently Asked Questions