British man sends fourth place medal to Olympians who missed the podium

Every Olympian is a winner in David Mitchell's book, including those who miss the gold, silver and even bronze. 

Mitchell, from Derbyshire, England, has created a special fourth place medal for Olympians who just miss the podium. The medals that Mitchell designed and commissioned are made out of pewter, a metal less valuable than bronze, according to the BBC. 

Mitchell created the medals after studying Olympic history. He told the BBC that he believes the competitive nature of the games has become overwhelming for athletes. Even the sheer numbers make it nearly impossible to medal. Mitchel noted that in the 60s there were only 84 countries competing in the Olympic Games. Now 204 teams compete in the games.

"The timings from third to fourth are so minuscule, just fractions of a second, it seems so unfair," Mitchell told the UK Express. "I just want to do a nice thing and let them know we’re proud of them.” 

Mitchell told Yahoo Sports that he plans to send the medals to select athletes from all nations adding, “I hope they don’t find it insulting. It’s meant seriously."

Yahoo Sports reported that Mitchell may actually be doing the fourth place finishers a great service. According to a 1995 study, bronze medal winners were more content than silver medal winners, but that fourth-place finishers are crushed with “what might have been.”