Less than six months since the 2024 Paris Olympic Games wrapped up, it looks like the hard-earned medals handed out to winners aren’t looking too great.
In fact, they’re looking so much worse for wear that athletes are opting to return them to get replacements.
As reported by news.com.au, a number of Olympians and Paralympians have returned the “deteriorated” medals, with many pointing out its now faded colour and rough texture.
Last year, US skateboarder Nyjah Huston shared on his Instagram story that his bronze medal was looking considerably different than when he first received it.
“These Olympic medals look great when they’re brand-new,” Huston said in August.
“But, after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and then letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they’re apparently not as high quality as you’d think.
“It’s looking rough.”
Not long after, Australian BMX bronze medallist Natalya Diehm took to social media to share similar concerns.
“So once I won bronze, I had so many people ask to see a photo of it or that I should post a video on my stories so that everybody could see it,” Diehm explained in a TikTok video in October.
“I didn’t because this literally started to happen day one of me having the medal and I guess I just wanted to keep it quiet for a little.
“It’s unfortunate because the original bronze colour is so pretty.
“I’m not sure why this has happened to mine. I haven’t taken it out partying, it’s not from people touching it so much because this is a comparison to what a bronze medal should look like.”
French swimmer Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, who took home the bronze, went so far as to question whether his medal was 100 years old, captioning a picture of his medal “Paris 1924”.
😭😭 Paris 1924 pic.twitter.com/WzfoV3ECQt
— Yohann Ndoye Brouard (@yohann_2911) December 28, 2024
Amid all this drama, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organising Committee is believed to be “working closely” with the Monnaie de Paris (the French state mint) which is responsible for the manufacture and quality control of the medals, according to AFP reports.
“Defective medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved identically,” it said.
“The replacement process should begin in the coming weeks.”
Still, when contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for the Monnaie de Paris refuted the term “defective”.
“We have replaced all the damaged medals since August and we will continue to do so in the same professional manner as before,” they said.
They added that replacements are being made “as requests come in”.
Fingers crossed the medals don’t wither away into the abyss by the end of 2025.
