Several Olympians will receive new medals after complaining that their hardware from the 2024 Summer Games in Paris had already started to tarnish, according to the French Mint which produced the medals.
The Paris Mint, which produced 5,084 medals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, told The Associated Press it would replace the medals after several athletes complained that their condition had already begun to deteriorate as early as August.
Three Olympic gold medals from the Paris 2024 Games on display. (Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
“The Paris Mint has taken the issue of damaged medals very seriously since the first exchange requests in August and has mobilized its internal teams,” said the French Mint.
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“Since then, the company has modified and optimized its relative varnishing process. La Monnaie de Paris will replace all damaged medals at the request of athletes during the first quarter of 2025.”
According to the AP, the French Mint declined to comment on the exact number of medals it would replace, but a French media outlet reported that the number was more than 100.
THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was working with the French Mint to ensure the medals were made “identically to the originals.”
Bronze medalist Nyjah Huston holds his medal after the victory ceremony in the men’s street skateboarding event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Concorde in Paris on July 29, 2024. (ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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“The Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organizing Committee is working closely with Monnaie de Paris, the institution responsible for the production and quality control of the medals, to assess any issues with the medals and to understand the circumstances and the cause of any damage,” the IOC said in a statement to Reception sports.
“Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Paris Mint and engraved identically to the originals.”
American skateboarder Nyjah Huston was among the athletes to complain about the tarnishing of the medals. After winning bronze in the men’s street event, Huston took to social media days later to reveal how his medal had deteriorated.
Silver medalist Jagger Eaton, left, and bronze medalist Nyjah Huston pose with their medals after the victory ceremony of the men’s street skateboarding event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Concorde in Paris on 29 July 2024. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
“Alright, these Olympic medals look great when they’re brand new,” Huston said in a video posted to Instagram.
“But after letting it sit on my skin for a bit with a bit of sweat, then letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they apparently aren’t as good quality as you might think.”
French swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clément Secchi also recently complained about their medals being chipped.
The medals were made with pieces of polished iron from the Eiffel Tower that were saved from renovations.
