The medals of India’s Olympic heroes from the Paris 2024 Games, as well as those of many of the world’s greatest athletes, are showing signs of rust and deterioration and could be replaced.
When The Indian Express contacted some of the Indians who reached the podium in Paris, they said their prized possessions were not in the best condition. Shooting bronze medalists Swapnil Kusare and Sarabjyot Singh complained that the color started fading within days of the medal ceremony.
“The color on my bronze medal peeled off within seven days of winning the medal. When I arrived in India, my friends, coaches and shooting buddies also pointed this out to me. The medal is a precious asset, but the peeling of the coating was visibly noticeable.Everyone who saw the medal noticed it,” said Kusare, who took third place in the 50m bronze medal.
Sarabyot, who won a mixed team medal with Manu Baker, had similar frustrations.
“I also noticed the discoloration on the medals a few days after the ceremony and the team contacted the relevant authorities to highlight this issue.Olympic medals are meant to inspire not only active shooters but also young people to achieve Olympic glory. It is an inspiration and there should be no decline,” said the pistol shooter.
The two bronze medals won by double medalist Manu Baker in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed events also lost their color, PTI reported.
This is in stark contrast to the Olympic medals awarded decades ago, which remained largely intact.
“It has been more than 40 years since Hardik Singh’s great-uncle Gurmail Singh won a gold medal in Moscow Olympic hockey, but the medal remained unchanged for years. Hardik Singh won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. It has discolored and something like that shouldn’t happen,” said Varinder Pal Singh, father of the hockey bronze medalist.
The IOC said the Paris organizing committee was in contact with the national Olympic committees of the athletes involved and that the replacement process would begin in the coming weeks.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said it would file a case with the world body if the medalists came forward in the matter.
IOA President PT Usha said, “Olympic medals are lifelong achievements and cherished memories. If an athlete feels that the medal is of poor quality and needs to be replaced, we will request the IOC to replace it.” ” he said.
This is a problem that many achievers in other countries also face. The number of such damaged medals is more than 100, although no official figures are available from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the French Olympic Committee or the Monnaie de Paris (the mint that produced the medals). It is assumed that.
cross-border issues
Even before the Olympics ended, American skateboarder Nyjah Huston had posted a video of her bronze medal that she claimed had been degraded. Recently, French swimmers Johan Ndoye Brouard and Clément Secchi posted images of their medals on social media, suggesting that the medals are “crocodile skin”, meaning they date back to 1924 rather than 2024. He said he could see it.
These complaints reached the IOC and the French Mint, which decided to replace many of the medals.
“Since the first request for replacement in August, Palimone has taken the issue of damaged medals very seriously and has mobilized an internal team,” the French Mint said, according to the Associated Press. “Since then, the company has modified and optimized the relative varnishing process. At the request of the athletes, Monnaie de Paris will replace all damaged medals during the first quarter of 2025. I plan to.”
The medals were designed by Parisian jeweler Chaumet, and each included a hexagonal ingot of polished iron taken from the Eiffel Tower.
Kusare hopes to find a replacement and believes Olympic medals should remain intact for as long as possible so they can inspire future generations.
“I believe that the legacy of the Olympics and the medals of the sporting legends who I watch on TV and are inspired by winning Olympic medals should be restored to their original form and that legacy should not be tarnished. I believe no. I will accept the new medal according to the IOC and it should be done for everyone,” he said.
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