'Defective' Paris Olympics medals to be replaced, IOC says
Damaged and defective medals won by the world's top athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be replaced in the coming weeks, organisers said, after French media said that more than 100 medals had already been returned. The thousands of medals handed out during the Games were produced by France's state mint.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) told AFP Monday that the "defective medals" from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be replaced with identical models.
"The Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organising Committee is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris (the French state mint), the institution responsible for the manufacture and quality control of the medals, to assess any complaints about the medals and to understand the circumstances and cause of any damage," the IOC said.
"Defective medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved identically.
"The replacement process should begin in the coming weeks."
When contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for the Monnaie de Paris refuted the term "defective" and said that the medals signalled by athletes as being "damaged" since the month of August have already been replaced.
"We have replaced all the damaged medals since August and we will continue to do so in the same professional manner as before," said the spokesperson, adding that replacements were "underway" and were being made "as requests come in".
Ten days later he posted a picture of his medal, where he complained about its quality.
(AFP)
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