Milan-Cortina 2026 organisers say they are “looking closely” at why Olympic medals are breaking after several athletes experienced issues with theirs.

Two of the USA’s gold medallists, Breezy Johnson and Alysa Liu, revealed the ribbon had come away from the medal soon after they received their prize.

Johnson, who won gold in the women’s downhill alpine skiing, showed her broken medal at the post-event media conference.

“So there’s the medal. And there’s the ribbon,” she told reporters. “And here’s the little piece that is supposed to go into the ribbon to hold the medal, and yeah, it came apart.

Liu disclosed a similar issue in a video on social media after she won gold as part of the United States squad in the figure skating team event.

The issue also befell the German team who won bronze in the biathlon. An Instagram video shows the medal falling from the ribbon of one of the athletes as they jumped up and down in celebration at the team hotel.

Andrea Francisi, Milan-Cortina 2026 chief games operations officer, said the organisers are investigating the issue.

“We are fully aware of the situation,” Francisi said. “We are looking into exactly what the problem is.

“We are going to pay particular attention to the medals, and obviously this is something we want to be perfect when the medal is handed over because this is one of the most important moments for the athletes.”

A United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee spokesperson told BBC Sport they are waiting for organisers to resolve the issue.

It has not yet been confirmed whether athletes will receive replacement medals.

This is not the first time the quality of medals awarded at Olympic Games has been called into question.

As of February 2025, a total of 220 requests have been made to replace medals won at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games because of wear and tear – roughly 4% of those awarded.

Diver Yasmin Harper, who won Team GB’s first medal of the 2024 Games, was among the athletes to notice her medal was showing signs of “tarnishing”.

Paris 2024 organisers said any damaged medals would be replaced. (AFP)

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