Gold medallist Mary Fisher listens to the sound of the gold medal she won in the women's 100m Backstroke - S11 at the Paralympics.

Did you watch New Zealand Paralympics swimmer Mary Fisher shake her gold medal next to her ear and wonder what was going on?

The swimmer collected her gold medal from the women's 100m Backstroke - S11 on Friday (Saturday NZ Time) and proceeded to smile as she gave it a good shake.

That was because for the first time Paralympics gold medals can be heard by visually-impaired athletes.

The medals have small steel balls inside them, which each make a different sound for gold, silver and bronze.

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The bronze medals have 16 steel balls and make the lowest sound. The silver ones have 20 balls and the golds have 28, producing the loudest noise.

Paralympics medals have long had braille, used by visually-impaired people to read, on them, with this year's reading Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, but it was the first time Fisher would be able to hear her medal as well.