At the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, gold medalist Breezy Johnson and other athletes experienced their medals breaking shortly after receiving them, prompting a message of caution to handle them delicately.
Olympic organizers are actively investigating a series of incidents where medals detached from their ribbons during celebratory moments over the Games’ opening weekend.
Johnson, the women’s downhill ski gold medalist, revealed that her medal broke while she was jumping in excitement after her victory on Sunday. She expressed confidence that it would be repaired, describing the damage as minor.
Following the mishap, Johnson quickly received a replacement medal before the combined team event on Tuesday, although it still requires engraving. When asked if she could keep the damaged medal, she humorously shook her head, mentioning the limitations on possessing multiple medals.
Footage from Germany captured the moment biathlete Justus Strelow discovered that his mixed relay bronze medal had detached from its ribbon and fallen to the floor while he was dancing with teammates. Despite his efforts to reattach it, a small piece, likely the clasp, had broken off and remained on the ground.
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu shared a video on social media showing her team event gold medal detached from its official ribbon, jokingly stating, “My medal don’t need the ribbon.”
Andrea Francisi, the chief Games operations officer for the Milano-Cortina organizing committee, acknowledged the issue and assured that they are actively working towards a solution to address the medal detachment incidents.
Notably, concerns regarding the quality of Olympic medals have arisen in the past. After the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, some medals had to be replaced due to athlete complaints about tarnishing and corrosion, resulting in a textured appearance reminiscent of crocodile skin.
