Why more than 100 athletes have returned medals from Paris Olympics as Paralympic star releases shocking video

More than 100 athletes across the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics have been forced to return medals won during the Games, over six months on from the closing ceremony.

A total of 5,084 medals were handed out across individual and team disciplines at the Olympics and Paralympics, it was reported.

The medals were designed to be a long-lasting reminder of both the Games and Parisian culture, with the Olympiad being hosted in the French capital for the first time in exactly 100 years.

Paris had previously played host to the Olympics in 1900 and 1924, making it the joint most-frequented city, along with London, in Olympic history.

But it quickly became apparent that there was a significant issues with the medals that were distributed to athletes.

Team USA's Nyjah Huston posted a photo of his deteroriated medal on social media, claiming that after the medal sat on his skin, it began to look 'rough'. Huston won bronze in the Olympic skateboarding event.

Brazil gymnast Rebeca Andrade said she was having to avoid wearing her four Paris 2024 medals - including one gold - because they were 'knocking against each other and scratching'.

And French swimmer Clement Secchi captioned a photo of his bronze medal on Instagram: "Crocodile skin."

Now, US Paralympic star Hunter Woodhall has posted a video to his TikTok account, showing how much his gold medal from the men's T62 400m track final has deteriorated.

As well as clear markings in the centre of the medal, the ribbons holding it in place are now beginning to wear away - although the American admits that part of the damage was his fault.

Woodhall - whose wife Tara Davis-Woodhall won gold in the Olympic women's long jump and can be seen in the video - says: "As you might have seen, I accidentally tore the ribbon on my medal from Paris.

"They can fix it, but the only problem is that you can't remove the ribbon without damaging the medal.

"I now have two options. I can send this medal back, they can send me a new medal with a fixed ribbon. But it'll be a different medal.

"Or do I keep the original medal and fix the strap?

"There's a tear on the bottom of the medal. There's some small dings. This is the one I stood on the podium with. This is the medal that I won. I feel like this is a bit of a people's medal, so I'm asking for your opinion."

But what is the reason for the medal deterioration?

As well as the gold, silver or bronze used in each of the 5,074 medals, an official Paris 2024 press release confirmed that each one also contains a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower.

It is described as 'puddle' iron and is 'almost pure and extremely strong', as per the release.

The iron pieces were removed during the Tower's renovation during the 20th century, having been constructed as part of its original design in 1889. By 2024, therefore, the pieces would have been 135 years old.

The Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) - the company which designed the medals - released a statement to the Associated Press on the matter. It is believed, as per French outlet Le Lettre, that over 100 athletes from the Olympics and Paralympics have returned medals.

The statement reads: "The Monnaie de Paris has taken the issue of damaged medals very seriously since the first exchange requests in August, and has mobilised its internal teams.

"Since then, the company has modified and optimised its relative varnishing process.

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"The Monnaie de Paris will replace all damaged medals at the athletes' request during the first quarter of 2025."

It has also been confirmed that the damaged medals will be 'engraved in an identical way to the originals'.