""I was jumping in excitement and it broke," American skier Breezy Johnson said after earning her first gold medal on Sunday. She warned other medalists "Don't jump in them." Johnson is one of several athletes who reported their medals detaching from their ribbon and in one case, breaking in half. At a press briefing on Tuesday, Olympic organizing committee spokesperson Luca Casassa said he was aware that there were issues with some medals. He added that a solution has been identified and encouraged athletes with faulty medals to return them for repair."
""As a precaution, we are re-checking all the medals to make sure that the athletes' joy can be really 360 degrees when they conquer something which is so precious and so important," Casassa said in Italian. He didn't specify what the issue or the fix was. This isn't the first time that Olympic medals needed to be replaced. After the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, athletes raised concerns that their awards, which famously included pieces of the Eiffel Tower, were tarnishing and corroding after the games."
At the Winter Games in Milan, multiple athletes reported medals detaching from ribbons or breaking, including an American skier whose gold split after she jumped in celebration. Organizers acknowledged issues and advised athletes with faulty medals to return them for repair while re-checking all medals as a precaution. Viral footage shows a German biathlete's medal coming loose during a podium moment and teammates responding as he tried to reattach it. A U.S. figure skater displayed a ribbon-less medal on social media. Previous Games also saw medal problems, with Paris 2024 recipients reporting tarnishing and corrosion.
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