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Olympic Winners Share Pathetic State Of Their Medals After 2024 Paris Games: “Total Failure”
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Olympic Winners Share Pathetic State Of Their Medals After 2024 Paris Games: “Total Failure”

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Olympians are voicing their frustrations over the disappointing quality of their medals from the 2024 Paris Games.

Just months after earning their hard-earned medals, athletes have taken to social media to reveal how the glow of their Olympic glory is literally fading away.

Two French swimmers, Clement Secchi and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, shared the worn-out state of their bronze medals, which they both took home from the Olympics after winning the 4×100-metre medley relay.

Highlights
  • Winners of the 2024 Paris Games are sharing their frustration about the Olympic medals.
  • French swimmers Clement Secchi and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard recently shared pictures of their hard-earned prizes.
  • Both swimmers took home the Bronze medal after winning the 4×100-metre medley relay.
  • "What an utter disgrace to people who've spent literally a decade or longer dedicating themselves to becoming the pinnacle of human performance," one social media user said.
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    French swimmer Yohann Ndoye-Brouard expressed frustration over the rapidly fading state of his medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics

    Image credits: yoyo.2911

    Image credits: yoyo.2911

    “Crocodile skin,” Secchi, 24, said while describing the withering state of his Olympic prize, while his teammate said it could be mistaken for something made a century ago.

    “Paris 1924,” wrote the 24-year-old swimmer.

    The swimmers’ dilemma drew mixed opinions online, with one saying, “It looks like it was dipped in Seine” while another joked, “Those from Paris 1924 are in better condition.”

    “I’m afraid the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris were a total failure,” another wrote. “And the question of medals was probably one of its least problems …”

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    “Paris 1924,” said the 24-year-old swimmer, who won the 4×100-meter medley relay

    Image credits: yohann_2911

    “France doesn’t even know how to print coins anymore…” said another.

    “Why are you holding and wearing it?” another asked. “Get it cleaned professionally and then put it in an air tight case. It’s just natural patina.”

    “Total nonsense. That’s patina what is shown,” another said. “It’s the natural process of oxidation and corrosion of bronze due to lack of maintenance and cleaning of the metal. Color transformation and texture changes due to patina is seen on the medals. Stop complaining!”

    “I’m afraid the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris were a total failure,” read one social media comment

    Image credits: yohann_2911

    Before the French swimmers voiced their complaints, other Olympians have been sharing their woes about their victory tokens since the conclusion of the Olympics in August.

    Members of Team USA, which dominated the medal table this year, spoke about the plight of their Olympic hardware soon after the prestigious event came to an end.

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    “Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they are brand new,” said Team USA Olympic skateboarder Nyjah Huston, who won in the men’s street skateboarding final on July 29.

    “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 are apparently not as high quality as you would think,” added the skateboarder in a clip he shared on social media in August.

    Other athletes also shared similar disappointment over the withering state of the prized accolades

    Image credits: yohann_2911

    Image credits: yoyo.2911

    “I mean look at that thing, it’s looking rough. Even the front is starting to chip off a little,” the Olympian continued.

    “So I don’t know … Olympic medals, you gotta maybe step up the quality a little bit,” he said.

    Similar concerns were shared by British diver Yasmin Harper, who said her Olympic bronze medal was showing signs of “tarnishing.”

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    The diver had won the first medal of Paris 2024 for Britain after coming in at third place in the women’s 3M synchronized springboard diving with her partner Scarlett Mew Jensen.

    Fellow French simmer Clement Secchi also shared an image of his bronze medal and described it as “crocodile skin”

    Image credits: clem_secchi

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    Image credits: clem_secchi

    “There’s been some small bits of tarnishing,” she said in August about the condition of her prize. “I think it’s water or anything that gets under metal, it’s making it go a little bit discolored, but I’m not sure.”

    The diver said she wasn’t fazed by the quality “because it’s still a medal” after all.

    The Paris 2024 medals were designed by LVMH jeweler Chaumet, and each medal includes a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower.

    After complaints from the games’ winners, organizers from the Paris Olympics said they were looking into the situation and would rectify it.

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    The French swimmers came in third place in the 4×100-metre medley relay behind China and the US

    Image credits: Olympics

    “Paris 2024 is aware of a social media report from an athlete whose medal is showing damage a few days after it was awarded,” a spokesperson told the Daily Mail after Huston’s post went viral in August.

    “Paris 2024 is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris, the institution tasked with the production and quality control of the medals, and together with the National Olympic Committee of the athlete concerned, in order to appraise the medal to understand the circumstances and cause of the damage,” the spokesperson went on to say.

    “What an utter disgrace,” said one critic after seeing the state of the Olympic medals

    Image credits: LewStuhl

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    Ic_polls

    Poll Question

    What do you think about the state of the Olympic medals from Paris 2024?

    They should be replaced.

    It's natural wear and tear.

    Athletes should maintain them better.

    I'm not concerned, still a medal.

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    Binitha Jacob

    Binitha Jacob

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I'm fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I'm navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people's captivating stories to the world

    Read less »
    Binitha Jacob

    Binitha Jacob

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I'm fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I'm navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people's captivating stories to the world

    Karina Babenok

    Karina Babenok

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    As a visual editor in the News team, I look for the most interesting pictures and comments to make each post interesting and informative through images, so that you aren't reading only blocks of text. I joined Bored Panda not that long ago, but in this short amount of time I have covered a wide range of topics: from true crime to Taylor Swift memes (my search history is very questionable because of that).In my freetime, I enjoy spending time at the gym, gaming, binging Great British Bake Off and adding yet another tattoo artist that I would love to get a tattoo from to my pinterest board.

    Read less »

    Karina Babenok

    Karina Babenok

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    As a visual editor in the News team, I look for the most interesting pictures and comments to make each post interesting and informative through images, so that you aren't reading only blocks of text. I joined Bored Panda not that long ago, but in this short amount of time I have covered a wide range of topics: from true crime to Taylor Swift memes (my search history is very questionable because of that).In my freetime, I enjoy spending time at the gym, gaming, binging Great British Bake Off and adding yet another tattoo artist that I would love to get a tattoo from to my pinterest board.

    What do you think ?
    Add photo comments
    POST
    Seán Baron
    Community Member
    1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Games were only 5 mo the ago. The medals should not be in that state. There were even stories about the medals looking bad whilst the Games were still going.

    iseefractals
    Community Member
    1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Bronze patina is blueish green, much like copper....because bronze is 88% copper (and 12% tin). While it's normal for the shiny, fake gold like "luster" to fade from polished bronze in a matter of weeks...that is not what it looks like. In fact, the Olympic committee claims that Zinc was added to the alloy of the medals to PREVENT tarnishing. Those medals look like a very thin plating is wearing away.

    Robert Kaynes
    Community Member
    1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If the manufacturer just used a clear lacquer after plating, tarnish wouldn’t have been an issue. So disappointed for the medalists!

    Load More Comments
    Seán Baron
    Community Member
    1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Games were only 5 mo the ago. The medals should not be in that state. There were even stories about the medals looking bad whilst the Games were still going.

    iseefractals
    Community Member
    1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Bronze patina is blueish green, much like copper....because bronze is 88% copper (and 12% tin). While it's normal for the shiny, fake gold like "luster" to fade from polished bronze in a matter of weeks...that is not what it looks like. In fact, the Olympic committee claims that Zinc was added to the alloy of the medals to PREVENT tarnishing. Those medals look like a very thin plating is wearing away.

    Robert Kaynes
    Community Member
    1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If the manufacturer just used a clear lacquer after plating, tarnish wouldn’t have been an issue. So disappointed for the medalists!

    Load More Comments
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