The medal ceremonies at this year's Olympics are full of the regular pomp and circumstance except for one notable exception: flowers are no longer part of it. The absence of the flowers has left viewers confused and wondering why Olympic medalists are receiving a paperweight instead. The short answer? Sustainability.

Rio needs to cut it out with these tiny statues no one wants to hold. Just give them the FLOWERS. #Olympics [1]

— Jordan Crucchiola (@JorCru) August 8, 2016 [2]

The 2016 Olympics' main theme this year is sustainability [3], with the majority of the torch relay [4] focusing on stories around it. It's also why flowers were done away with this year, since it's not a gift most athletes treasure anyway [5]. "We give it to an athlete, and very often they just throw it away," said Christy Nicolay [6], the executive producer of the victory ceremonies to The New York Times. Instead, the winners are receiving a sculpture of the Rio Olympics logo.

The logo [7], designed by Fred Gelli and his design studio, Tátil [8], "shows three figures joining hands and feet [9]," reports Curbed. It was designed as a 3D-model, making it easy to turn it into a sculpture for athletes.

It's not yet clear what the next Olympics might have for athletes in lieu of flowers.