Some Paris Olympic winners say their medals are falling apart — and are asking for replacements
Aaron Schwartz/AFP/Getty Images
- Some athletes who took podium spots at the Paris Olympics say their medals are deteriorating.
- Chaumet, a fine jewelry brand owned by LVMH, designed the medals.
- The International Olympic Committee said it will replace all "defective" medals.
All that glitters is not gold — and, as some athletes who competed in the Paris Olympics are finding out, even gold can lose its luster.
Since the 2024 Olympic Games last August, some Olympians who took home bronze, silver, and gold have taken to social media to complain that their medals are already showing signs of wear and tear.
They include French swimmers Clément Secchi and Yohann Ndoye Brouard, who posted photos on X of their gold medals in less-than-ideal shape in December.
???????? Paris 1924 pic.twitter.com/WzfoV3ECQt
— Yohann Ndoye Brouard (@yohann_2911) December 28, 2024
"Paris 1924," Brouard wrote alongside crying face emojis in a post with images of his deteriorating gold medal.
The complaints mirror those of Team USA skateboarder Nyjah Huston. Shortly after the Games, he took to social media to show that his medal was already "looking rough."
"Olympic medals, we've got to step up the quality a little bit," Huston said in an Instagram story.
The medals were produced by the Monnaie de Paris, the French Mint, in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Last week, the IOC said in a statement to France 24 that it was reviewing complaints and replacing "defective" medals.
In a statement to Business Insider, the Monnaie de Paris said it first received medal complaints in August, after which it "modified the varnish" used and "optimized its manufacturing process" to make them "more resistant to certain uses by athletes."
It also said it would replace and identically engrave "all damaged medals."
While the French Mint did not reveal the number of medals replaced, The New York Times reported on Tuesday that more than 100 athletes have issued complaints since the games.
Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images
Questions have also arisen for LVMH, the luxury conglomerate that partnered with the Olympics in 2024.
Ahead of the games, LVMH said that its fine jewelry brand Chaumet would design each medal — a task that the Maison embarked on with "creativity and passion," according to the LVMH website.
The Olympics marked one of the few highlights of 2024 for LVMH, a year in which its brands reported disappointing sales amid a widespread downturn in the luxury industry.
At the time, the Olympic partnership was a major marketing boost for LVMH, which — in light of the unfortunate medal situation — may no longer be the case.
This year is shaping up to be more promising for the French company. Its stock has risen sharply and and CEO Bernard Arnault's net worth is up almost $18 billion since January 1 to $194 billion, putting him in fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
LVMH and the IOC did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.