These athletes say their Olympic medals are already falling apart
The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics have been underway for under a week, but things are already going wrong with the medals.
As athletes stepped onto the podium and celebrated with their Olympic medals, some of the hardware was coming undone. On multiple occasions throughout the Games, athletes have reported that the actual medal had fallen off the ribbon while they were celebrating.
USA figure skater Alysa Liu captured a gold medal in the team event, but posted a video on Instagram showing that the actual medal had detached from the ribbon.
“My medal don’t need the ribbon,” Liu captioned the post.
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Liu wasn’t the only athlete to suffer a medal malfunction. Biathlete Justus Strelow had his bronze medal clank onto the ground live on a German TV broadcast while he was celebrating. He tried to fix the Olympic medal, but quickly realized a clasp had broken off.
American skier Breezy Johnson won a gold medal in the women’s downhill ski event, but told reporters after the event that her medal had already fallen apart. She issued a PSA to her fellow athletes to avoid breaking their own.
“I was jumping in excitement, and it broke,” Johnson said as she showed exactly what broke on the medal. “I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not like crazy broken, but it’s a little broken.
“Do not jump in them.”
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Senior Olympic officials have confirmed that they are looking into the matter and working toward a solution. So far, neither of Canada’s two medalists has reported problems with their hardware.
Hopefully, it stays that way for the duration of the Games.
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This is the second straight Olympic Games where the medals were subject to some controversy. Shortly after the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, athletes complained that their medals were corroding and tarnishing at a rapid rate, with one athlete comparing the medal to feeling more like “crocodile skin” than anything else.
Luckily, this looks like a bit of an easier fix.