Sports

Over 100 Athletes Return Damaged Medals From Paris 2024 Olympics

Less than six months after the 2024 Paris Olympics, many athletes’ medals have already lost their luster.

More than 100 Olympic and Paralympic athletes have reached out to the Monnaie de Paris to request a replacement medal as many have begun to “deteriorate” in recent months, according to a new investigative report from the French website La Lettre.

A spokesperson for Monnaie de Paris, who produced more than 5,000 medals for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, told PEOPLE in a statement that they would not confirm the number of “damaged medals” that it has received complaints about, but said they’re working with the 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee “to assess medal claims and understand the circumstances and cause of damage” to athletes’ medals.

The French mint confirmed that the “replacement of damaged medals has been initiated” in some cases and that “all damaged medals will be replaced and identically engraved at the request of athletes during the 1st quarter of 2025.”

La Lettre’s investigative report about the “defective” medals on Monday said the medal controversy has led the French mint to fire three people on its production and quality staff. The Monnaie de Paris denied this Tuesday, saying it’s “false” that three employees were fired over the medal fiasco