"The medals faded within ten days", the Paris Olympic Committee responded: damaged medals will be replaced
2024-08-11
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
The 2024 Paris Olympic Organizing Committee stated that regarding the quality problems of the medals of this Olympics, such as the peeling of the plating, "if the medals are damaged, the athletes will receive replacement medals."
The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee issued a statement on the 10th local time, saying that it had "noticed on social media that an athlete's medal was damaged a few days after it was awarded." It also said that it was "working closely with the Paris Mint, which is responsible for medal manufacturing and quality management, and the Olympic Committee of the relevant athlete's country to evaluate the medal and understand the circumstances and causes of the damage."
▲The American skateboarder said the bronze medal he received was rusty and black
American skateboarder Nia Houston released a video on the 8th, saying that just ten days after winning the bronze medal, the condition of the medal had deteriorated greatly, and the surface looked dull, rusty and black.
Houston showed the medals with peeling plating and rough surface in the video, and said: "It feels that the quality is obviously not as good as expected. (The back) looks rough, even the front. (The plating) is starting to fall off... Olympic medals, you may need to improve the quality a little bit."
He added in another post: "The medals look like they came back from a war. The quality of the medals should be improved."
The medals for this year's Paris Olympics were designed by Chaumet, a luxury jewelry brand under the French luxury giant LVMH Group, and manufactured by the Paris Mint. Except for the silver medal, all other medals are decorated with gold.
The analysis said the exact composition of the medals varies from Olympics to Olympics. The gold medals for this Olympics are actually made mainly of silver with a layer of gold on them. Bronze medals are usually made of a mixture of copper, zinc and tin, known as bronze. If bronze is not protected, it will combine with oxygen in the air to form a dull patina, which would explain why the Houston medals were damaged. The rate at which bronze degrades depends on the proportion of metals in the alloy, and cheaper metals usually speed up the process.
"It could be that the patina has deformed," said Indian sculptor Neeraj Gupta. "Like any common alloy, exposure to moisture will lead to corrosion. However, using alloys made from cheaper metals will accelerate the process." He added that this is a natural process and cannot be stopped. According to him, the only way to protect the bronze plaque is to pay attention to the quality and purity of the alloy.
Medal quality issues also surfaced at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where more than 130 medals were reportedly returned to organizers because they had rust or black spots on them.
At that time, Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio Olympic Organizing Committee, said: "We noticed problems with 6%-7% of the medal coverings. The most common problem seems to be due to improper handling, resulting in the peeling of the surface paint and rust or blackening of damaged areas." The silver and bronze medals of the Rio Olympics were made of 30% recycled materials.
Deng Shuyi, Red Star News reporter
Editor Yang Ran Responsible Editor Deng Qiguang
(Download Red Star News and get a reward for reporting!)
