French mint to replace faulty Paris Olympic medals by 2025

During the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, 5,084 medals were produced. Unfortunately, some of them quickly lost their shine. The French mint (Monnaie de Paris) has decided to replace the damaged medals to compensate the affected athletes.

The medals were designed by the Parisian jewelry house Chaumet. Inside them is a hexagonal piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower. These elements weigh about 0.6 ounces and were cut from beams removed during the tower's renovation. Quality issues with the medals emerged even before the end of the games, when American skateboarder Nyjah Huston showed how quickly his bronze medal was damaged.

Many athletes have complained about the quality of the medals. French swimmers Yohann Ndoye-Brouard and Clement Secchi posted pictures of their medals, which looked significantly older than they actually are. The International Olympic Committee confirmed that organizers are in contact with national Olympic committees to solve the problem.

The French mint has taken steps to identify the causes of the damage. It also announced the replacement of all damaged medals.

The Monnaie de Paris has taken the issue of damaged medals very seriously since the first exchange requests in August, and has mobilized its internal teams. Since then, the company has modified and optimized its relative varnishing process. The Monnaie de Paris will replace all damaged medals at the athletes’ request during the first quarter of 2025 - stated in a declaration cited by the Newday.

The French mint did not disclose the number of returned medals, but according to the French site "La Lettre," there could be over 100. The French Olympic Committee and the IOC also did not provide any data on this matter.

Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals, informed the IOC.