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Olympic bosses investigate why medals are breaking
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Olympic bosses investigate why medals are breaking

#Milan-Cortina 2026 #Olympic medals #Winter Olympics #Quality control #Athletes #Investigation #Medal durability

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Milan-Cortina 2026 organizers are investigating reports of Olympic medals breaking and deteriorating.
  • The inquiry follows multiple complaints from athletes regarding the poor physical quality of their prizes.
  • Organizers aim to prevent similar quality control issues during the upcoming 2026 Winter Games.
  • Previous Olympic Games, including Paris and Tokyo, faced similar controversies regarding peeling and discoloration.

📖 Full Retelling

Organizers of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games launched a formal investigation on Monday into the structural integrity of Olympic medals following recent reports of several prizes deteriorating or breaking in the hands of athletes. The organizing committee initiated this review at their headquarters in Italy to ensure that future hardware for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics meets durability standards and avoids the quality control scandals seen in previous cycles. The move comes as a preemptive measure to safeguard the prestige of the event and address growing concerns regarding the manufacturing processes used for these high-value symbolic awards. The investigation was prompted by social media complaints and public statements from several athletes who participated in recent Olympic events, claiming that their hard-earned medals began to peel, discolor, or physically break shortly after the ceremonies. While organizers have not yet named the specific manufacturers involved, they emphasized that the "look and feel" of the medals must be matched by structural permanence. This scrutiny is particularly focused on the chemical coatings and metallurgical bonds used to fuse the precious metal plating to the core material of the awards. Historically, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has faced similar challenges, most notably following the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games, where bronze medals were frequently reported to have lost their finish within weeks. By addressing these technical failures now, the Milan-Cortina team aims to implement more rigorous stress tests during the production phase of the 2026 medals. This proactive stance is intended to reassure competing athletes that their physical legacy from the Games will remain intact for years to come, preserving the tradition and value associated with an Olympic podium finish.

🏷️ Themes

Sports, Manufacturing, Olympics

📚 Related People & Topics

Athlete

Athlete

Person who participates regularly in a sport

An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track and field and marathon runners but excluding e.g.

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Winter Olympic Games

Winter Olympic Games

Major international multi-sport event

# Winter Olympic Games The **Winter Olympic Games** (French: *Jeux olympiques d'hiver*), commonly referred to as the **Winter Olympics**, is a premier international multi-sport event held quadrennially. The competition is specifically dedicated to sports practiced on snow and ice. ### Historical O...

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Olympic medal

Olympic medal

Award given to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games

An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid out in detail in the Olympic protocols.

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Investigation

Topics referred to by the same term

Investigation or Investigations may refer to:

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Quality control

Quality control

Processes that maintain quality at a constant level

Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach places emphasis on three aspects (enshrined in standards such as ...

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Connections for Athlete:

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📄 Original Source Content
Milan-Cortina 2026 organisers say they are "looking closely" at the issue of Olympic medals breaking after several athletes suffered issues with their prizes.

Original source

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