The medal scandal that keeps haunting the Paris Olympics

For many, the Paris Olympics were the best ever, but the medals awarded to the athletes left much to be desired.

Shortly after the Olympics, Team USA soccer player Lynn Williams revealed that her prized Olympic gold medal was already broken.

In a video posted to her TikTok, and widely shared after, the forward revealed that her medal didn't even leave Paris intact, as the bar that held the ribbon in place broke during her team's celebrations of their 1-0 win over Brazil in the final.

Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot @TheIndependnet

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The 31-year-old, who plays for Gothan FC, said the medal broke as she was dancing with her teammates with her medal on her shoulder. The medal fell to the ground and was immediately dented, while the bar that previously attached the hardware to the ribbon snapped off.

While Williams said she is discussing options to get the medal repaired with the IOC, she has been left more than a little frustrated that the issue occurred in the first place. “I just think they should have made these better,” she said on her TikTok. “They should have made them more sturdy. And I honestly I can't be faulted for that.”

The medals of the 2024 Paris Olympics have been a bit of an issue so far, as multiple athletes have started to complain that their medals have already started to tarnish and chip, according to BBC Sport.

Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in the men’s street skateboarding competition for the USA, released an Instagram video soon after the competition in which he described his medal as “looking rough,” despite only owning it for slightly over a week!

Hutson’s video continued with the American claiming, “even the front is starting to chip off a little,” not what you’re hoping for having worked so hard to win a medal.

The American lifted the lid on the state of his bronze medal, saying, “These Olympic medals look great when they're 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.”

The skateboarder even offered some advice for Olympic organizers, saying, “Olympic medals, you've maybe got to step up the quality a little bit,” perhaps when the Games are held in his home state of California, the medals will be of a higher standard.

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Hutson and Williams were certainly not the only medallists from the Games to be complaining about their medal’s quality, with Yasmin Harper from Team GB also claiming her medal was starting to tarnish.

Harper, along with Scarlett Mew Jensen, won Team GB’s first medal of the Games in the women's 3m synchronised springboard diving. Her bronze medal was, “a little bit discoloured,” per BBC Sport.

Harper offered a theory on why her medal has started to worsen already, saying, “I think it's water or anything that gets under metal.”

The British diver was ultimately fairly calm about the situation, given, “it's still a medal”.

BBC Sport has reported the Paris organizers will happily replace any medals that get damaged, which could certainly add to the Games’ budget if they are starting to show signs of wear and tear already!

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