Image credit: RIA Novosti
MINSK, 9 February (BelTA) – Several medalists at the Winter Olympics in Italy have complained about their medals breaking, the BBC reports.
Problems with the quality of the medals were encountered by the American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, the American figure skater Alysa Liu, the Swedish skier Ebba Andersson, and the German biathlete Justus Strelow as well as other people. Due to problems with the fastenings the medals fell off the ribbons and parts broke off when they fell.
“Don’t jump while wearing them! I jumped for joy and it broke,” said Breezy Johnson whose gold medal was damaged immediately after the award ceremony.
A similar problem with the fastening was reported in a video posted on social media by American Alissa Liu, who won gold at the 2026 Olympics as part of the U.S. team in a figure skating team event. The video shows Liu holding up the medal and ribbon in separate hands, with the text: “My medal doesn’t need the ribbon.”
As the German biathlete Justus Strelow was celebrating his first Olympic medal with his team, his bronze medal broke off from the ribbon in the same way and fell to the floor.
The German Ski Association published footage of the victory celebration and commented on the unpleasant situation with the words: “Hey Olympics, what’s up with these medals?”
The silver medal won by the Swedish skier Ebba Andersson in the skiathlon on 7 February also proved to be short-lived. “I was running behind [the skiathlon winner] Frida Karlsson and in my haste my medal fell into the snow and broke into three pieces. Now I hope that the organizers have a backup plan in case the medals break,” Ebba Andersson said.
Following frequent reports about problems with the quality of the medals, Andrea Francisi, Milan-Cortina 2026 chief games operations officer, said the organizers are investigating the issue. “We are fully aware of the situation,” Andrea Francisi said. “We are looking into exactly what the problem is.”
The BBC reports that this is not the first time that the quality of medals awarded at Olympic Games has been called into question. The Olympics in Italy are repeating the experience of the Games in Paris two years ago when athletes complained en masse that their medals were rusting a few days after the award ceremony. As of February 2025, a total of 220 requests have been made to replace medals won at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games because of wear and tear.
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