Two Paris Olympic bronze medalists say their medals are severely worn, while the organizing committee assures they can be replaced.

•3 min read
Two Paris Olympic bronze medalists say their medals are severely worn, while the organizing committee assures they can be replaced.
What memories do the athletes who stepped onto the podium at the Paris Olympics have to share? Undoubtedly, it was the exhilarating moments captured on camera—but there’s also the medal itself, a rare and cherished item that somehow feels incredibly fragile. On social media, two French swimmers recently posted photos of their bronze medals. Yet just a few months after the competition ended, these medals already showed signs of severe damage.
French television channel France 1 reported that Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, the French swimmer who won bronze in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, showcased the worn-out condition of his medal on X. He added in a comment: "Paris, 1924," subtly suggesting that the medal looks as though it dates back nearly a century. The image revealed the medal’s surface was severely damaged, with the metal clearly unable to withstand even minor handling.

▲ French swimmer Yohann Ndoye-Brouard shows off the worn-out condition of his bronze medal on X. (Image source: Screenshot from social media)
Bruyère isn’t the only athlete whose medal shows signs of wear and tear. His relay teammate, Clément Secchi, has also noticed similar damage—on Instagram, he described his bronze medal as looking like "crocodile skin."
As early as August, athletes began raising concerns about the quality of the medals. Most of the issues seemed to have been reported by bronze medalists. Nyjah Huston, the U.S. skateboarder who finished third in the men’s street event, also spoke up about the damaged medals. "These medals look great when they’re brand-new," he said. "But once I started wearing them—especially when I broke a bit of a sweat—or after my friends sported them over the weekend, it became clear that their quality wasn’t quite what I’d expected."
In response to these criticisms, the Monnaie de Paris—the Paris Mint, responsible for producing all the medals for the 2024 Olympics—and the organizing committee quickly issued a statement. The committee invited affected athletes to report any medal wear-and-tear issues so that replacements could be arranged promptly. "Medals are the most coveted items at the Olympics and hold immense personal value for athletes," the committee emphasized, adding that any damaged medals would be "systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris, with the exact same design meticulously engraved on each new one."
(European Times / Compiled and reported by Xia Ying)
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