Two French swimmers, Clement Secchi and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, have joined the growing list of Olympians complaining about the poor condition of their medals from the Paris Games. Several Team USA athletes, including Nyjah Huston, Nick Itkin, and Ilona Maher, made headlines after complaining about their damaged medals. Secchi and Ndoye-Brouard, who won bronze in the 4×100-metre medley relay, dropped photos of their tarnished medals. Secchi compared his medal to “crocodile skin,” while Ndoye-Brouard humorously referred to it as a relic from the “Paris 1924″ Games.
The medals for the 2024 Paris Olympics were created by the jeweler Chaumet, and each memento for the winner contained a piece of the Eiffel Tower. As per National Jeweler, one side of the medal honors Paris, while the other highlights Chaumet’s legacy and the history of the Olympics. The design features rays that symbolize Paris as the ‘City of Lights.’ This was the third time Paris had hosted the games after 1900 and 1924.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who won a bronze medal after losing against Yuto Horigome and Jagger Eaton, was the first to publicly bring attention to the shabby condition of his medal. In response, the organizing committee promised to replace the damaged prizes and investigate the situation “to understand the circumstances and cause of the damage.”
In a statement provided to Daily Mail, a spokesperson said, “Paris 2024 is aware of a social media report from an athlete whose medal is showing damage a few days after it was awarded. Paris 2024 is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris, the institution tasked with the production and quality control of the medals, and with the National Olympic Committee of the athlete concerned to appraise the medal to understand the circumstances and cause of the damage.”
Meanwhile, gold medals are typically silver and coated with gold, while bronze medals are made from copper, zinc, and tin. A higher amount of cheaper metals in the mix can cause the metal to deteriorate more quickly.
