USA athlete Nyjah Huston, who finished 3rd in skateboard street on July 29, complained about the poor quality of his bronze medal, which “started to peel off and looks more like war”.
The American athlete’s bronze medal has peeled off PHOTO: Instagram
Organizers of the 2024 Olympics and the Paris Mint have pledged to replace any medals that are “damaged”.
The decision comes after American Nyjah Huston complained after several days of what he claimed was poor quality of his bronze medal, which “began to exfoliate and it looks more like the war did”according to messages published on social networks and picked up by the media.
“Okay, so these Olympic medals look great when they’re new, but after letting my medal sit on my skin with a little sweat and then letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they’re not as shiny anymore how would you hope it stays,” he said. “I mean, look at that thing. It looks bad. Even the face. It’s starting to chip a little. So yeah, I don’t know, the Olympic medals, maybe you need to up the quality a bit,” the athlete told in a Story on Instagram.
In a press release, the Organizing Committee of the 2024 Olympic Games stated that it “learned from social networks that an athlete’s medal was damaged a few days after it was handed out”.
“Medals are the most desired objects from the Olympic Games and the most precious for athletes. All damaged medals will be replaced by the Paris Mint and engraved identically”the organizers said.
The Paris 2024 medals feature a sliver of the Eiffel Tower as a nod to the host city, but the exact composition of the medals varies from one Olympics to another. Gold medals are actually mostly silver with a gold coating.
Bronze medals are usually a mixture of copper, zinc and tin. Bronze combines with oxygen in the air if not protected, forming a dull patina that would explain the deterioration of Huston’s medal. The rate at which bronze degrades depends on the proportion of metals in the alloy, although cheaper metals often speed up the process, writes The Guardian.
