Some medals from the Paris Olympic Games are already starting to lose their luster.
La Monnaie de Paris told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it is working to replace some medals from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games after athletes complained about their early deterioration – some of them even posting photos on their social networks.
France’s national monetary institution declined to say how many medals were returned, but the French website “La Lettre” put it at more than 100. Contacted by the AP, the French Olympic Committee and the IOC also refused to specify the number of disks affected.
In total, the Paris Mint has struck 5,084 medals for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“La Monnaie de Paris has taken the degradation of medals very seriously since it received its first requests in August, and it has mobilized resources internally,” the organization said. Since that time, the institution has modified and optimized its varnishing process. La Monnaie de Paris will replace all affected medals, at the request of the athletes, during the first quarter of 2025.”
The Parisian jeweler Chaumet designed the medals, which were part of the legacy of these Olympics. A piece of polished hexagonal steel, taken from the Eiffel Tower, was inlaid into each of the medals awarded during the 2024 Olympics.
However, concerns about their build quality were raised even before the event ended last summer, after American snowboarder Nyjah Huston posted a video reporting that his bronze medal was deteriorating early. . French swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clément Secchi also published photos of their medals on their social networks, describing their texture as “crocodile skin”, or comparing them to those awarded in 1924.
The IOC told the AP that the Paris Olympic organizing committee is in contact with the various national Olympic committees of the affected athletes. He confirmed that a replacement process will be launched within a few weeks, and that the Monnaie de Paris is working with the organizing committee to understand the circumstances and causes of the early deterioration of the medals.
“Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Paris Mint and will be identical in all respects to the originals,” assured the IOC.
The polished pieces of steel embedded in the Olympic medals each weigh 18 grams.
They were cut from scraps and other parts that were replaced on the Eiffel Tower during the renovations of the monument, before being stored carefully, according to Joachim Roncin, the design director of the organizing committee of the Paris Olympics .
