Paris offers American skateboarder new Olympic medal days after bronze medal degrades
American skateboarded Nyjah Huston revealed the tarnished and degraded condition of his Olympic bronze medal on Instagram.
American skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who won an Olympic bronze medal on July 29, revealed the poor condition of his medal days after celebrating his win. A spokesperson for Paris Olympics 2024 assured the athletes that they would be given replacements for damaged medals.
The bronze medallist showed the dull, rusted and degraded condition of his medal on his Instagram story. 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,” he said.
Sharing another Instagram Story, the skateboarder commented further, “Medal looking like it went to war and back.”
Also Read: Brazil's Tamires Morena wins hearts by helping injured Angolan captain at Paris Olympics
Check out the Instagram Story here:
Making of Olympic medals
The Paris Olympics 2024 Athletes' Commission decided that the medals this year should contain an original piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower. While gold medals are predominantly silver with a gold coating, bronze medals are composed of copper, zinc and tin.
According to a report by Indian Express, Neeraj Gupta, a sculptor explained, “As any regular alloy, exposure to moisture will lead to decay. But having an alloy with cheap metals will catalyse the process.”
Bronze, when exposed to air and moisture can form a dull patina which may have led to the degradation of Huston's medal. The rate at which bronze degrades also depends on the metal alloy used in the making of the medal. Cheaper metals used to make the medal can accelerate the medal decaying process.
Also Read: Aman Sehrawat on no-sleep to Vinesh Phogat's bloodletting: Weight-cutting for Olympics is an extreme sport of its own
What did the Paris 2024 spokesperson say?
According to a report by Time, a spokesperson for Paris Olympics 2024 assured that replacements would be provided for any damaged and tarnished medals.
“Paris 2024 is aware of a social media report from an athlete whose medal is showing damage a few days after it was awarded. Paris 2024 is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris, the institution responsible for the production and quality control of the medals, and with the National Olympic Committee of the athlete concerned, to assess the medal and understand the circumstances and cause of the damage,” stated the spokesperson.
Also Read: Dutch swimmer dedicates 10km Olympic marathon swim gold to late dog. Watch
The spokesperson added, “The medals are the most coveted objects of the Games and the most precious for the athletes. Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals.”
US' Nyjah Huston won the bronze medal in the men's street skateboarding event. The 29-year-old is a prominent athlete in skateboarding with a record of six world championships and 12 gold medals at the Summer X Games. According to Huston's athletic record sheet, he is not accustomed to bronze medals. Known for his gold-winning prowess, Huston's recent experience highlighted the challenges of maintaining the quality of Olympic medals.