Milan Olympics Committee Addresses Medal Durability Issues

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics organizing committee has launched efforts to address medal durability problems that have emerged during the Games.

Andrea Frassisi, Chief Operating Officer of the Milano Cortina 2026 organizing committee, acknowledged the issue at a press conference on February 9. "We are aware of the medal durability problems and have seen the photos. We are investigating the exact cause," he said. "This is the most important issue for athletes, so we will resolve everything perfectly."

Since the early days of the Games, medals have been separating from their ribbons and cracking immediately after award ceremonies.

U.S. alpine skiing women's downhill gold medalist Bridget Johnson drew attention when she appeared for interviews wearing only the ribbon around her neck, without her gold medal, right after the ceremony.

When reporters asked where her gold medal was, Johnson pulled it from her pocket and said with an awkward smile, "It's heavy and it broke." She added, "I was jumping up and down because I was so happy, and it suddenly fell off."

German biathlete Justus Strelow discovered his mixed relay bronze medal had cracked after it separated from the ribbon and fell to the floor while celebrating at the team dormitory. Swedish cross-country skiing silver medalist Ebba Andersson also said, "My medal fell onto the snow and it broke. I hope the organizing committee has a plan for broken medals."

U.S. figure skating women's singles competitor Alysa Liu posted on her Instagram after winning gold in the team event with an unimpressed expression, writing, "My medal doesn't need a ribbon."