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People are just finding out truth about Olympic gold medal after athlete gives close look

Home> Other

Updated 10:55 12 Aug 2024 GMT+1Published 12:53 11 Aug 2024 GMT+1

People are just finding out truth about Olympic gold medal after athlete gives close look

Gold medals from the Paris games feature a striking design.

Matthew Holt

Matthew Holt

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Olympics

Matthew Holt
Matthew Holt

Matthew is a Freelance Sports Journalist who also works for Manchester United, FourFourTwo and Reach PLC. He supports Scunthorpe United.

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@_mattyholt

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Criticism for the medals designed and awarded at this year's Paris Olympics has begun to flood in.

392 medals will be given out across a whopping 32 sports but some athletes have already lambasted the quality of their award.

Team USA skateboarder Nyjah Huston is just one of them after recently sharing the condition of his own accolade.

In a video posted online, the 29-year-old was not best pleased with how his bronze medal had seemingly warped just days after winning.

"Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they're brand-new," he said.

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"But after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and letting my friends wear it over the weekend.

"They're apparently not as high quality as you'd think."

Furthermore, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, who won gold in the floor gymnastics final has said it is a shame she cannot wear the medals due to their condition and flimsy nature.

Rebeca Andrade with her gold medal for Brazil
Rebeca Andrade with her gold medal for Brazil

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She said: "They [the medals] are knocking against each other and are scratching.

"I'm getting sad. And I don't want to be sad. So I'm not going to wear them around my neck anymore.

"I'm going to walk around with two in my hands and two in my pocket."

It leaves many with the question, what actually are the medals made out of?

How are the Olympic medals designed?

Olympic gold medals are mostly constructed of silver, not full gold as the name suggests.

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The International Olympic Committee has stated that medals for gold must include at least 92.5 percent silver and about six grams of pure gold coating.

The 1912 Stockholm Olympics marked the final occasion when pure gold medals were given out.

Who makes the Olympic medals?

The medals for the Games were designed by Paris jewellery house Chaumetand and were made by the Paris Mint.

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A spokesperson for the Paris Games has since vowed to replace any 'damaged' medals.

"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," a spokesperson told Mail Sport.

"The medals are the most coveted objects of the Games and the most precious for the athletes," they added. "Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals."

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