Athletes work their whole lives to get an Olympic medal, but many of the winners have been disappointed with what the Paris 2024 Olympics had to offer.
Over 100 medals have already been returned by “disgruntled athletes,” per French news outlet La Lettre. The medals are said to be cracking and showing other defective varnishes.
A number of Olympic athletes have been vocal on social media about the poor quality of the medals, including American skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in Paris.
“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 said in a video he uploaded to social media.
“I mean, look at that thing. It’s looking rough, even the front is starting to chip off a little. I don’t know, Olympic medals, you maybe gotta step up the quality a little bit.”
“[Medals] are apparently not as high quality as you would think… I mean, look at that thing.”
Team USA skateboarder Nyjah Huston says his Bronze Medal is already losing color 😳
(via @nyjah / IG)pic.twitter.com/x8UtOUYwf4
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 9, 2024
French swimmer Clement Secchi also complained about the quality of his bronze medal, comparing it to “crocodile skin” in a post he uploaded to his Instagram story.
A short time later, another French swimmer, Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, took to X to agree with Secchi, uploading a photo of his medal to X. It was clear from his photos that the quality of the medal was below the standards of what you would expect from an event as prestigious as the Olympics.
😭😭 Paris 1924 pic.twitter.com/WzfoV3ECQt
— Yohann Ndoye Brouard (@yohann_2911) December 28, 2024
According to La Lettre, the International Olympic Committee has confirmed that the medals will be replaced but did not specify a specific timeframe.
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