Paris Olympian Reveals Medal 'Chipped' In Just A Week, Internet Slams 'Cheap' Quality

Whenever an Olympian wins a medal, be it gold, silver, or bronze, it is priceless to them. It is a reminder of how hard they have worked and that their efforts have paid off well. While athletes hold these medals close to their hearts with memories that they will treasure forever, even the thought of the medals going into ruins can make them distressed. So is the case with the USA’s Nyjah Huston, an Olympic bronze medalist. The 29-year-old American skateboarder recently showed off the medal that he won in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.

On July 29, Huston won the bronze in the men’s street skateboarding final in Paris, and it is already looking a little worse for wear. The athlete even shared videos and pictures of the medal, joking that it seemed to have returned from a war.

Taking to his Instagram stories, Huston says in one of the clips, “Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they are brand new. 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.” As he turns the camera to show off the weariness of the medal, one can see it going rough, with a part of it even starting to chip off a bit.

In another post, he shared a closeup shot of the medal and wrote, “Medal looking like it went to war and back.”

The pictures and videos instantly went viral, sparking a debate online about the quality of these coveted medals. A user reshared a screenshot from the video and wrote, “Degraded quality of Olympic bronze medal after a week.” Many others took to the comment section and shared their views.

One wrote, “This year’s Olympics in France seems cheap from the start.”

Another commented, “The quality of the entire Olympics is degraded.”

Former Paralympian Derrick Helton shared a picture of his own bronze medal from 2012 London, stating that it still remains the same.

On the other hand, a section of users argued that it is normal for bronze medals to get oxidised after some time. This has drawn attention to yet another issue at the 2024 Summer Games. Earlier, a major discussion started over the poor living conditions at the Olympic Village.