The main issue cited for the returns concerns the medals’ quality, with reports of rust and other forms of damage. The controversy began when skateboarder Nyjah Huston, a bronze medalist, expressed dissatisfaction with his medal’s condition, saying it deteriorated within just ten days of his win.
“Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they’re brand new, 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 would think,” Huston commented at the time.
He added, “I mean, look at that thing. It’s looking rough. Even the front. It’s starting to chip off a little. So yeah, I don’t know, Olympic medals, you maybe gotta step up the quality a little bit.”
In response, a spokesperson for Paris 2024 assured that athletes would receive replacement medals for any that were damaged. Nevertheless, complaints have continued to emerge.
Among the latest athletes to voice their dissatisfaction are two French Olympians who criticized their medals on social media. Swimmer Yohann Ndoye-Brouard shared an image of his tarnished medal, humorously suggesting it was from the 1924 Paris Olympics instead of 2024.
Similarly, swimmer Clement Secchi posted a photo of his flaking medal, captioning it ‘crocodile skin’.
While the medals are categorized as gold, silver, and bronze, their actual composition varies. Gold medals, for example, are largely made of silver with a gold finish, while bronze medals are typically composed of copper, zinc, and tin. Due to its properties, bronze naturally oxidizes when exposed to air and moisture, with the rate of degradation depending on the alloy’s metal proportions, which can be accelerated by less expensive metals.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has acknowledged the complaints and is committed to resolving the matter, as conveyed to Mail Sport.
The committee stated: “The Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris, the institution tasked with the production and quality control of the medals, in order to appraise any issues with medals to understand the circumstances and cause of any damage.
“Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals.
“The process to provide any replacements should start in the coming weeks in a process managed by Paris 2024 and Monnaie de Paris, together with the National Olympic Committees of the athletes concerned. Paris 2024 is in contact with the relevant National Olympic Committees.”