French mint to replace tarnished Paris Olympics medals

During the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, 5,084 medals were produced. Unfortunately, some of them quickly lost their sheen. The French mint (Monnaie de Paris) has decided to replace the damaged discs to make amends to the affected athletes.

The medals were designed by the Parisian jewellery house Chaumet. Inside them, there is a hexagonal piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower. These elements weigh about 0.6 ounces and were taken from beams removed during the tower's renovation. Quality issues with the medals arose before the end of the games, when American skateboarder Nyjah Huston demonstrated how quickly his bronze medal became damaged.

Many athletes complained about the quality of the medals. French swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clement Secchi posted photos of their medals, which appeared much older than they actually are. The International Olympic Committee confirmed that organisers are in contact with national Olympic committees to resolve the issue.

The French mint has taken steps to identify the causes of the damage. It has also announced the replacement of all damaged medals.

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. 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 - stated in a declaration cited by the Newday.

The French mint has not disclosed the number of returned medals, but according to the French website "La Lettre," there could be more than 100. The French Olympic Committee and the IOC have also not released any data on this matter.

Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals - informed the IOC.