The mint in France responsible for producing medals for the 2024 Summer Olympics will replace some of the hardware given out to athletes following complaints of deterioration in the medal varnish.
Reports of medal degradation began even before the Olympics ended; U.S. skateboarder Nyjah Huston posted photos on his Instagram of his bronze medal, showing discoloration on the surface.
The medals were designed by Chaumet, a French luxury jewelry and watch brand, and created by Monnaie de Paris, the French mint. They include preserved pieces of iron from the original Eiffel Tower, which were put into storage after renovations in the 20th century.
“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 told the Associated Press in a statement. “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.”
France created 2,600 medals for the Olympics and 2,400 medals for the Paralympics; it’s unclear how many will be replaced.
The International Olympic Committee told the AP that the medals would be replaced in the coming weeks, but did not give a specific timeline.
“Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals,” the IOC said to the AP.
The Athletic has reached out to Monnaie de Paris and the IOC for comment.
The French publication La Lettre first reported the news.
This marks the second time this week that Olympic medals are being replaced. The International Olympic Committee has also committed to replacing the medals belonging to U.S. swimmer Gary Hall Jr., who lost them in the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
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