More than 100 Olympians have returned their Paris 2024 Olympic medals just five months after the event.
According to reports from French outlet La Lettre, this is due to the poor condition of the medals which have been affected by damage and rust.
The management of the company who produced the medals, Monnaie de Paris, has been sacked due to the issue.
Concerns over their quality began last year while the event was still ongoing.
American skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in Paris, was among the first to complain about his medal after posting a video on social media just 10 days after his event.
In the video, Huston said: “Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they’re brand new, but after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and then letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they’re apparently not as high quality as you would think.
“I mean, look at that thing. It’s looking rough. Even the front. It’s starting to chip off a little.
“So yeah, I don’t know, Olympic medals, you maybe gotta step up the quality a little bit.”
Huston’s video prompted a number of other athletes to share images of their medal’s deterioration.
These included Team USA stars Nick Itkin and Ilona Maher, who won medals for fencing and rugby union respectively.
This was followed by two French Olympians, Clement Secchi and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, who took to social media to show off the state of their bronze medals which were won together in the 4x100m medley relay.
British diver Yasmin Harper also revealed that her medal was showing signs of deterioration after winning bronze with partner Scarlett Mew Jensen in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard diving.
She said: “There’s been some small bits of tarnishing.
“I think it’s water or anything that gets under metal, it’s making it go a little bit discoloured, but I’m not sure.”
Now, more than 100 athletes from around the world have returned their medals just five months after winning them.
The International Olympic Committee told the Daily Mail: “The Organising Committee of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris, the institution tasked with the production and quality control of the medals, in order to appraise any issues with medals to understand the circumstances and cause of any damage.
“Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals.
“The process to provide any replacements should start in the coming weeks in a process managed by Paris 2024 and Monnaie de Paris, together with the National Olympic Committees of the athletes concerned. Paris 2024 is in contact with the relevant National Olympic Committees.”
