According to Lettre, over a hundred defective medals awarded to athletes during the Summer Olympics in Paris have been returned to the organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The publication noted that some athletes publicly voiced their dissatisfaction on social media about the rapid deterioration of the medals, mostly the bronze ones.
Among the first to highlight this issue were French swimmer Maxime Grousset and American skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who won a bronze medal. Huston pointed out the chips and rust that appeared after a short period of wear, emphasizing that the quality of Olympic medals should be significantly higher.
The mass return of medals, along with the criticism, has caused serious upheavals at the Paris mint, which was responsible for their production.
Lettre reports that three directors in charge of production and quality control have been dismissed. Preliminary findings suggest that defective lacquer and violations of manufacturing protocols may have led to the deterioration of the medals.
