Among the medals from the Paris Olympics appear to be rapidly shedding their shine.
The French mint informed The Related Press on Tuesday that it’s changing various medals from the 2024 Paris Video games and Paralympics after athletes complained that they’ve already deteriorated — with some posting footage on social media.
The Monnaie de Paris declined to say what number of medals have been returned, however French web site La Lettre put the quantity at over 100. Contacted by the AP, the French Olympic committee and the IOC additionally wouldn’t reveal figures.
In complete, the French mint produced 5,084 medals for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Video games.
“The Monnaie de Paris has taken the difficulty of broken medals very severely because the first change requests in August, and has mobilized its inside groups,” the French mint stated. “Since then, the corporate has modified and optimized its relative varnishing course of. The Monnaie de Paris will substitute all broken medals on the athletes’ request throughout the first quarter of 2025.”
Parisian jewellery home Chaumet designed the medals, which have been a part of the Video games’ lasting legacy. A hexagonal, polished chunk of iron taken from the long-lasting Eiffel Tower was embedded in every gold, silver and bronze medal.
However considerations about their high quality emerged earlier than the Video games had even ended final summer time when American skateboarder Nyjah Huston posted a video exhibiting how rapidly his bronze medal had deteriorated. Many different athletes have since additionally complained. French swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clement Secchi not too long ago posted photographs of their medals on social media, describing them as wanting like “crocodile pores and skin,” or courting again to 1924.
The IOC informed the AP that Paris organizers are involved with the nationwide Olympic committees of the athletes involved. It confirmed that the alternative course of will begin within the coming weeks, and that the French mint is working with Paris organizers to grasp the circumstances and reason behind any harm.
“Broken medals will probably be systematically changed by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an equivalent method to the originals,” the IOC stated.
The iron items embedded within the centre of the Olympic medals every weigh 18 grams (about two-thirds of an oz).
They have been reduce from girders and different bits that have been swapped out of the Eiffel Tower throughout renovations and saved for safekeeping, based on Joachim Roncin, head of design on the Paris Video games organizing committee.
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