Team USA rugby star Ilona Maher has revealed that her 2024 Paris Olympic bronze medal has already started to wear, leaving Games chiefs facing several complaints.
The 28-year-old won the bronze medal last week with a 14-12 victory over Australia last week, and she showed the medal during an interview appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers . Maher pulled the bronze medal from a red, white, and blue case - which was knitted for her by British diver Tom Daly.
"People talk about their chains – that’s my chain," she said. "But it is heavy, and it kinda does wear on the neck, which like kind of a fun burden to bear. Like, wearing an Olympic medal, ‘Uh, it’s a lot of work.’ But I will wear it more, of course. It’s gorgeous, it is wearing a little bit. But it’s huge. … It’s a solid hunk of medal. It’s a great piece of metal."
Maher is not the only athlete who has commented on the quality of the medal; Nyjah Huston, who won a bronze medal in men’s street skateboarding, is also complaining. "All right, so these Olympic medals look great when they are brand new," Huston said before showing some of the medal's wear and tear.
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"But after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and then letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they are apparently not as high quality as you would think."
"It's looking rough. Even the front is starting to chip off a little. Olympic medals, you gotta maybe step up the quality a little bit," he added. The Paris Mint has taken notice of athletes' social media posts and has promised to "systematically replace" any Olympic medal that deteriorated.
"Working closely with the Paris Mint, responsible for the production and quality control of the medals, and with the National Olympic Committee of the athlete concerned, in order to examine the medal in question to understand the circumstances and the cause of the damage," the International Olympic Committee told the French news agency.
A spokesperson added: "The medals are the most coveted objects of the Games and the most precious for the athletes. Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Paris Mint and engraved identically."
Team USA finished top of the Olympic medals table, beating out rivals China. The United States won 126 medals in total, including 40 gold medals.
China finished with 40 gold medals but only 91 in total, leaving Team USA clear at the top. The next summer Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles in 2028.
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