Officials promise repairs for damaged Olympians' medals
Olympics officials say a solution has been found for the broken medals that have frustrated athletes in Milan.
Several competitors at the Winter Games have seen their celebrations cut short when their medals snapped off their ribbons and fell to the ground. Following a review, Games spokesperson Luca Cassasa announced that a fix is now in place. “After reports of issues affecting a small number of medals, the organizing committee immediately investigated, working closely with the State Mint, which produced the medals,” Cassasa said at the daily briefing. “Athletes whose medals have been damaged are asked to return them so they can be repaired and promptly returned.”
Team USA gold medalist Breezy Johnson experienced a break in her medal while celebrating her downhill skiing victory, but she had already received a replacement by the time of the combined team event. “They don’t, like, let you have multiple of those things,” she joked. Figure skater Alysa Liu also had a gold medal detach from its ribbon during the team event and received a replacement before her interview on Monday.
This is the second consecutive Olympics where medal issues have affected athletes. At the 2024 Paris Games, some medals had to be replaced after complaints of tarnishing or corrosion, which gave them a mottled appearance.
Regarding composition, Olympic gold medals are no longer solid gold. They are made primarily of pure silver (at least 92.5%) and coated with 6 grams of gold. Milan Cortina medals feature 99.9% pure silver and 99.9% pure gold plating. Bronze medals at these Winter Games consist of 420 grams of copper, unlike previous editions, which included a mix of copper, tin, and other metals. The gold-and-silver medals weigh just over a pound each.
Biting into medals, a common celebratory gesture, is a nod to the days when Olympic gold medals were entirely solid gold.
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