Over 100 medals from the 2024 Paris Olympics have been returned to the Monnaie de Paris after athletes have proven instances of deterioration since the Games ended in August, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
France intends to replace the medals sent to them from the Olympic athletes. The International Olympic Committee confirmed that the return process will begin soon, and they will be looking into what caused this deterioration.
“The Monnaie de Paris has taken the issue of damaged medals very seriously since the first exchange requests in August, and has mobilized its internal teams,” the French mint said, via AP. “Since then, the company has modified and optimized its relative varnishing process. The Monnaie de Paris will replace all damaged medals at the athletes’ request during the first quarter of 2025.”
The 5,084 medals given out at the Olympic Games last summer were created by Paris jewelry house Chaumet. The hexagon shape in the middle contained iron from the Eiffel Tower.
Multiple Olympians posted about their deteriorating medals on social media, including American skateboarder Nyjah Huston and French swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clément Secchi, who described their medals appearing to have "crocodile skin."
😭😭 Paris 1924 pic.twitter.com/WzfoV3ECQt
— Yohann Ndoye Brouard (@yohann_2911) December 28, 2024
“Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals,” the IOC said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as France Replacing 2024 Paris Olympic Medals After Athletes Complain of Deterioration.
