More Than 100 Olympic Medalists Say Their Paris Medals Are ‘Deteriorating’ as Company Promises Replacements
The French mint tells PEOPLE it will replace "all damaged medals" awarded to 2024 Olympic winners in the coming months
Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty
Summer McIntosh has her Olympic medals on display. Triple gold and silver medalist in Paris and just back from the World Championships in Budapest, swimmer Summer McIntosh greets young swimmers at the Etobicoke Swim Club at the Etobicoke Olympium in Toronto. December 19, 2024Less than six months after the 2024 Paris Olympics, many athletes’ medals have already lost their luster.
More than 100 Olympic and Paralympic athletes have reached out to the Monnaie de Paris to request a replacement medal as many have begun to “deteriorate” in recent months, according to a new investigative report from the French website La Lettre.
A spokesperson for Monnaie de Paris, who produced more than 5,000 medals for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, told PEOPLE in a statement that they would not confirm the number of "damaged medals" that it has received complaints about, but said they're working with the 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee "to assess medal claims and understand the circumstances and cause of damage" to athletes' medals.
The French mint confirmed that the "replacement of damaged medals has been initiated" in some cases and that "all damaged medals will be replaced and identically engraved at the request of athletes during the 1st quarter of 2025."
La Lettre's investigative report about the “defective” medals on Monday said the medal controversy has led the French mint to fire three people on its production and quality staff. The Monnaie de Paris denied this Tuesday, saying it's "false" that three employees were fired over the medal fiasco.
Joe Scarnici/Getty; Nyjah Huston/Instagram
Nyjah Huston and his bronze 2024 Olympic medalSeveral athletes have complained on social media since the closing ceremony in August, sharing photos of their medals that appear to show them flaking and cracking in several places.
U.S. skateboarder Nyjah Huston first spoke out about the medal quality in mid-August when he shared images on social media and said it looked like his medal “went to war.”
"Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they are brand new," Huston shared in an August clip on his Instagram Stories. "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 are apparently not as high quality as you would think.”
The American skateboarder added: "I mean look at that thing, it's looking rough. Even the front is starting to chip off a little.”
As recently as two weeks ago, French swimmers Yohann Ndoye Brouard and Clément Secchi , who won the 4x100m medley, complained on social media about their medals deteriorating. Secchi shared an image of his medal on Instagram, comparing it to flaky crocodile skin. Brouard responded with a joke about Secchi’s medal quality, writing, “and yet she is in good shape…”
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La Lettre reports that complaints about Monnaie de Paris’ medal quality began 15 months ago, well before the Paris Games, when Chinese tech company Huawei began receiving complaints from employees who received work medals that later began to show signs of wear.
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