Bronze medallist calls out Olympics over Paris medal already showing signs of wear

American skateboarder Nyjah Huston has told the Paris Olympics to “step up the quality”, after his bronze medal showed early signs of wear.

The 29-year-old criticised the Paris Olympics medal on social media, posting photos of the wearing award he said was chipped. The skater captioned the first photo saying “medal looking like it went to war and back”.

The skater won bronze in the men’s street skateboarding competition at the Games, but said the medal appeared chipped, rusty and aged-looking, within days.

“It isn’t as high quality as you would think,” he said.

Huston followed it up by saying “I guess medals are meant to be in cases. Not meant for the send [party].”

“I mean look at that thing,” Huston said. “It’s looking rough! Even the front is starting to chip off a little.”

One person replied to his Instagram story, which he then re-shared, saying “Looks like you won that thing in 1982 mate.”

Quality of Olympic Medals

Each Paris Olympic and Paralympic medal was made with a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower. During several renovations over the years, certain metallic elements were permanently removed and conserved and have been placed on the Olympic Games medals.

The back of the medal depicts the traditional rebirth symbol of the Games in Greece – the goddess of victory and the stadium for the Olympic Games 2004 in Athens. The Acropolis of Athens, a compulsory feature of the Olympic medals, is also joined by the Eiffel Tower.

Despite the use of high-quality materials, Huston’s experience suggests that the medals may not be as durable as expected.

The Paris Olympics has not yet commented on Huston’s criticism.