After multiple athletes reported issues with damaged medals, Milan Cortina Olympic organizers confirmed Italy’s national mint will repair any faulty medal fixings for athletes at the 2026 Games.
Olympic organizing committee spokesman Luca Casassa said a “targeted intervention” was agreed to with the producer of the medals, Rome’s Zecca dello Stato (state mint), to resolve the problems, which reportedly involve ribbons and clasps, not the medal designs themselves.
“Athletes who have medals with problems are invited to give them back through the appropriate channels so that they can be immediately repaired,” Casassa said.
American skier Breezy Johnson displayed a cracked and chipped gold medal after her win in the women’s downhill Sunday. “I was jumping up and down in excitement, then it just fell off,” Johnson told reporters Sunday. “Don’t jump in them. … I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken.”
German biathlete Justus Strelow also had his medal fall off his neck as he was celebrating a mixed relay bronze win with his teammates. Swedish cross-country skier Ebba Andersson also reportedly saw damage on her silver medal from the women’s skiathlon.
Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organizing committee, had responded to the damaged medal reports Monday promising a swift resolution.
“… Obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment,” Francisi said Monday.
–Field Level Media
