The Olympics in Paris in 2024 were not without criticism — from the organization of events to the quality of the medals. And while the games themselves left many bright moments, a new scandal broke out after several athletes discovered that their medals, received for huge achievements, quickly began to crumble.
Two French swimmers, Clément Secky and Johann Ndoye-Brouard, became the latest Olympians to complain about damage to their bronze medals. Only four months after the Games, their medals looked terrible - they were completely worn off, which became another shame for the organizers of the Olympics. Clément Secchi, one of the swimmers, posted a photo of his tattered medal on social media with the caption “crocodile skin”. His teammate, Johann Ndoye-Brouard, joked that his medal looked like "Paris 1924", a sign that its condition was reminiscent of old medals from the Olympics that took place a century ago. Their posts sparked a new wave of criticism of the organizing committee of the 2024 Olympics. In response to the problem, the organizers promised to replace all damaged medals, which, as it turned out, could not withstand even a few months of wear. This is not the first time that Olympians draw attention to the low quality of medals. In the summer of 2024, photos and videos of Team USA stars including skateboarder Nige Houston, diver Nick Itkin and swimmer Elon Maher showing their medals in terrible condition went viral.
Naija Houston, the first to point out the problem, complained that his medal started to peel just 10 days after receiving it. "These Olympic medals look great when they're new, but after I left them on my skin and got a little sweaty and then let my friends wear them over the weekend, they didn't look as good," he noted. Similar complaints about the medals began to come from other athletes. British diver Yasmin Harper reported that her medal began to lick a week after receiving it.
The medals for the 2024 Paris Olympics were designed by the French jewelry house Chaumet. They are made of different metals, in particular with the addition of iron, which was removed from the Eiffel Tower during the restoration in the 20th century. Bronze medals won by swimmers are usually an alloy of copper, zinc and tin. However, bronze is naturally prone to oxidation under the influence of air and moisture, which leads to its degradation. This process accelerates especially quickly if the composition of the alloy contains cheaper metals that can enhance oxidation. Also, the medals, although they had an extremely aesthetic appearance at the time of their manufacture, could not withstand the usual conditions of wear, which surprised many Olympians who expected more quality from such prestigious awards.
The problems with the medals of the 2024 Paris Olympics were a new blow to the reputation of the organizers and, in particular, to the company Chaumet, which designed these medals. Damage to medals even months after the Olympics shows how important not only the appearance, but also the durability of the prizes awarded to athletes for their incredible achievements. The organizing committee of Paris has already promised to rectify the situation by replacing all defective medals, but this will certainly leave a mark in the memory of athletes and fans, because these medals were supposed to be a symbol not only of victory, but also of high quality, which was not always possible to ensure.
