Look: Medals From 2024 Summer Olympics Are Aging Terribly
12/30/2024 02:18 PM
It's only been a couple of months since the conclusion of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, but you wouldn't know that based on the appearance of the medals from the games.
Athletes who competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France - and won medals - have been taking to social media to show off the state of their hardware. And it's not looking too good. The gold, silver and bronze medals given out by the International Olympic Committee in France could be looking better.
French Olympic swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clement Secchi have both taken to social media to share photos of their Olympic medals. Ndoye-Brouard won a bronze medal in the men's 4x100m medley relay, while Secchi was part of the same men's 4x100m medley relay team.
Their bronze medals are not looking too good.
Ndoye-Brouard joked that his bronze medal looked like it was given out in 1924 - not 2024.
😭😭 Paris 1924 pic.twitter.com/WzfoV3ECQt
— Yohann Ndoye Brouard (@yohann_2911) December 28, 2024
Secchi's hardware, meanwhile, was compared to "crocodile skin."
It's not the best look for the Summer Games.
"Not Clement Secchi's bronze medal that is flaking 💀💀," one fan added.
Pas la médaille de bronze de Clement Secchi qui s'écaille 💀💀#Paris2024pic.twitter.com/Dv7YOVxLMN
— MR.CARTER (@NelsonCarterJr) December 27, 2024
This is unfortunately not the first time that the Summer Olympic medals from Paris, France have been criticized. U.S. skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who won a bronze medal in the men's skateboard street final, criticized the quality of the medals back in the fall.
"Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they're brand new," the 30-year-old said in an Instagram Story at the time.
"But after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they're apparently not as high quality as you'd think. It's looking rough."
He added: "I don't know, Olympic medals, we gotta step up the quality a little bit."
Paris Games.
British diver Yasmin Harper, who won a bronze medal in the women's 3m synchronized springboard, has made similar comments.
"The medals. Er, there has been some small bits of tarnishing, I will admit, yes," the 24-year-old Harper said, per The Guardian. "Yes, I have looked at mine. A little bit [of tarnishing]. I don't know, I think it's like water or anything that gets on the metal, it's making it go a little bit discolored."
The medals are not that expensive to make, at least in their current form. The estimated cost of a gold medal is $1,027, a silver medal is $535, and a bronze medal is $4.60. The medals are reportedly made with 98.9% silver, 1.1% gold, and a piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower.
They were reportedly designed by jeweler Chaumet.
The Summer Games are aware of the criticism.
"Paris 2024 is aware of a social media report from an athlete whose medal is showing damage a few days after it was awarded," a spokesperson said.
"Paris 2024 is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris, the institution tasked with the production and quality control of the medals, and together with the National Olympic Committee of the athlete concerned, in order to appraise the medal to understand the circumstances and cause of the damage."
