Give the engineers of Milan a medal – hopefully an unbreakable one.
After a large number of medals were damaged during the 2026 Winter Olympics, an official claimed that repairs had been carried out and that those with damaged hardware could exchange their medals for new ones.
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“After receiving reports of issues affecting a small number of medals, the organizing committee immediately reviewed the matter, working closely with the national mint where the medals are produced,” spokesman Lucas Casasa said, according to the Guardian. “Solutions have been identified and repairs targeted. Athletes whose medals were affected are encouraged to return their medals through the appropriate channels so that they can be repaired and returned in a timely manner.”
Breezy Johnson shows how her medal got damaged. PA Picture from Getty Images
“Milano Cortina 2026 remains fully committed to ensuring that the medals that represent the pinnacle of each athlete’s journey meet the highest standards of quality and care.”
While people always focus on who wins medals, it’s not good publicity when people focus on whether those medals will stay around the participants’ necks.
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One source told Reuters the issue may be related to the clasps and ribbons on the medals.
The outlet said the medals have a detachment mechanism required by law to prevent potential strangulation or other injuries, while The Guardian further explained that the medals are designed so that if pulled hard the mechanism will disengage as this prevents suffocation.
Alyssa Liu shows off her damaged medal. @alysaxliu/instagram
The Olympic Committee will surely hope that this so-called solution will reduce – if not outright suppress – the number of athletes who highlight underperforming medals.
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu posted a video on Instagram of her gold medal and ribbon separated, while downhill skiing gold medalist Breezy Johnson showed off her separate medals at a press conference.
2026 Winter Olympics
The German biathlon team even posted on Instagram asking what happened to the medals.
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“Don’t jump in it. I jumped up in excitement and it broke,” Johnson said Sunday. “I’m sure someone is going to fix it. It’s not completely broken, it’s kind of broken.”
Jake Paul’s fiancée Jutta Leerdam posted a video on TikTok celebrating her gold medal, but it went viral midway through.
“I broke it,” she said. “I broke it.”
Paul said, “Yeah, it always breaks. I’ll fix it again.”
U.S. skier Jacqueline Wells is the latest medalist to reportedly have medal problems on Tuesday after celebrating a third-place finish.
“There were some arms swinging and I was jumping,” Wiles said, according to Reuters. “And things got out of hand pretty quickly. But that’s OK. They fixed it.”