Olympic athlete forced to hand back Paris 2024 medal due to 'chronic issue' that could impact Team GB stars
Plenty of athletes have been unhappy with the quality of their medals.
Alex Brotherton
An Olympic athlete has been forced to hand back his Paris 2024 medal due to an issue that could affect Team GB stars.
It's fair to say that the 2024 Paris Olympics was one of the most controversial Games of recent times.
The two-week Olympiad is now over, but one issue is rumbling on and there are no signs that there will be a resolution any time soon.
Plenty of athletes have complained about the quality of the medals they received in Paris, with some revealing the prizes have deteriorated beyond recognition.
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Now, Irish Olympian Daire Lynch has revealed that he had his bronze medal taken from him because of a "chronic issue" with bronze medals.
The rower who finished third with partner Philip Doyle in the men's double skulls final, but said Games chiefs have taken the medal back because it was falling apart.
Speaking on Irish TV earlier this week Doyle said: "Mine is gone, wrecked. It's nearly gone the next layer down."
Lynch added: "I wanted to keep mine but they wanted to take it away for research. They want to see what is wrong with the medals."
Doyle said that while some gold medals have been affected, it's largely bronze medals that seem to have an issue.
The core layer of the medals are made of silver, explaining why no second-place finishers have been impacted.
2024 Olympic medals also feature a piece of the Eiffel Tower at the back with an inscription of the event and athlete at its base.
During the Games, Team GB diver Yasmin Harper said that her bronze medal had become “a little bit tarnished” and “discoloured” before she'd even left Paris.
American skateboarder Nyjah Huston was the first athlete to highlight the dodgy quality of his 2024 medal on social media.
With Team GB taking home 65 medals, 29 of which were bronze and 14 were gold, there could be a fair few British athletes who have to return their medals.