The Monnaie de Paris, a French mint, will replace a number of Olympic medals that have begun deteriorating after being awarded in the 2024 Games, according to the Associated Press.
"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 mint told the AP. "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."
Neither the Monnaie de Paris, French Olympic committee and or International Olympic Committee offered a figure for the total amount of medals that were returned to the mint, though French website La Lettre reported that it was over 100, per the AP.
United States skateboarder Nyjah Huston and French swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clément Secchi were among the athletes who showed the deterioration of their medals in social media posts.
"These Olympic medals look great when they are brand new. But after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and then letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they're apparently not as high quality as you would think," Huston said in his Instagram Stories back in August while showcasing his bronze medal, which looked worn and had black discolorations throughout. "I mean look at that thing, it's looking rough. Even the front is starting to chip off a little. So, yeah, I don't know, Olympic medals, you gotta maybe step up the quality a little bit."
The medals were designed by Parisian jewelry house Chaumet. The defining feature of the design was a polished chunk of iron that taken from the Eiffel Tower and embedded into every medal awarded at the Paris Games.
"Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals," the IOC said.
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