Several 2026 Winter Olympics athletes competing in Milan have found themselves celebrating their big wins with broken medals.
Team USA athlete Breezy Johnson — who won gold in the women’s downhill alpine skiing event on Sunday, February 8 — revealed to reporters that her medal was officially in two separated parts.
“So there’s the medal. And there’s the ribbon,” Johnson told reporters in an impromptu show and tell. “And here’s the little piece that is supposed to go into the ribbon to hold the medal. And yeah, it came apart.”
When Germany’s Emma Aicher — who won silver in the race — joined the medalists’ presser, Johnson could be seen pulling out her medal and warning Aicher, “Do NOT jump in them.”
Lindsey Vonn has the full support of her teammate Breezy Johnson at the 2026 Olympics, even as she powers through an ACL injury. “There will be six Americans running the Downhill training runs and if Lindsey cannot compete … or doesn’t feel competitive enough others can take her place,” Johnson, 30, wrote via Threads on […]
After further investigation, this isn’t a fluke thing happening with just one or two athletes.
German biathlete Justus Strelow was dancing with his teammates when he realized the mixed relay bronze medal he won had fallen off the ribbon around his neck. Video of the incident has since gone viral on social media.
Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu also showcased her medal malfunction.
“My medal don’t need the ribbon,” she wrote via Instagram on Sunday. “Proud of the team.”
In a press briefing on Monday, February 9, Milano Cortina 2026 Chief Games Operations Officer Andrea Francisi addressed concerns about medals breaking after athletes win big.
“We are aware of the situation. We have seen the images,” Francisi told reporters. “Obviously, we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem. We are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it.”
A total of 245 gold medals will be awarded to winners of 116 Olympic and 79 Paralympic events over the next few weeks at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.
Just six grams of the 506-gram gold medals contain gold, USA Today reported. The medals otherwise consist of silver. The silver medals consist of 500 grams of 99 percent silver and the bronze medals consist of 420 grams of copper.
According to organizers, the medals are designed to appear to have two offset halves, which “symbolise the culmination of the athlete’s journey and all those who have walked beside them along the way.”
Before the games began, several athletes spoke to Us Weekly about what excited them most about their Olympic experience.
“It’s one of the greatest honors to be able to go to the Olympics and represent the U.S.,” ice dancer Madison Chock told Us in an exclusive cover story. “For us being Americans, we have such pride in our patriotism and really, the American dream.”
Hockey player Hilary Knight added, “If you want to call us sports ambassadors or sports envoys, we can have an impact on someone’s life in a small way. I do think there’s a greater responsibility when you’re representing your country on the world stage.”
Source link
