After the Paris Olympics, athletes raised concerns about the quality of their medals, which have been reported to tarnish or chip shortly after the Games. The French Mint acknowledged these issues and has started replacing medals at the request of athletes, with plans for the replacements to feature a protective varnish for increased durability. So far, 220 medals—equivalent to four percent of the total awarded—are set to be replaced, as the International Olympic Committee recognized the need for systematic replacement of defective medals.
"These Olympic medals look great when they're brand new, but after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit... they're apparently not as high quality as you would think."
"The French Mint (Monnaie de Paris) has replaced some of them and is continuing its replacement operation at the request of the athletes."
Collection
[
|
...
]