Imagine working your whole life to become a one in a million athlete, reach the pinnacle of athleticism by winning an Olympic medal, only to have it physically break shortly after possession. Team USA Gold medalist skier Breezy Johnson experienced just that, and has a simple warning for fellow competitors at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics: be careful.
“Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke,” Johnson, who won gold in the women’s downhill skiing event, said after her victory Sunday. “I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken.”
Johnson is among several athletes that discovered their medals suffered damage within just hours after they were awarded. Organizers confirmed they are examining the issue with what they described as “maximum attention” after multiple medals reportedly detached from their ribbons during celebrations over the Games’ opening weekend.
German television viewers saw a similar mishap involving biathlete Justus Strelow. Footage showed Strelow dancing with teammates after winning bronze in the mixed relay when his medal suddenly slipped off its ribbon and hit the floor. His teammates applauded as he tried to reattach it, but he soon noticed that a small component — apparently the clasp — had snapped off and remained on the ground, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu shared a video on social media showing her team event gold medal separated from its official ribbon. “My medal don’t need the ribbon,” Liu wrote early Monday.
Andrea Francisi, chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organizing committee, said officials are actively working to resolve the problem. “We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images. Obviously we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem,” Francisi said Monday.
“But obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it.”
Concerns over medal quality are not new for the Olympic Games, notes the AP. After the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, some medals were replaced after athletes complained they were tarnishing or corroding, developing a blotchy appearance that some compared to crocodile skin.