Summary
- A string of early medal ceremonies at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics has been overshadowed by reports that medals are breaking or detaching from their ribbons within hours
- U.S. stars Breezy Johnson and Alysa Liu, German biathlete Justus Strelow, Swedish skier Ebba Andersson and others have all shown damage ranging from broken clasps to chipped and cracked metal
- Games organisers, led by chief games operations officer Andrea Francisi, say they are fully aware of the situation and have launched an investigation into potential design or construction flaws
Across Milano Cortina 2026, the Olympic moment everyone trains for is colliding with the kind of design fail no one saw coming. In just the first days of competition, multiple athletes have watched their freshly awarded medals snap off their ribbons or show visible damage while they were still in celebration mode. Downhill champion Breezy Johnson revealed that her gold medal “came apart” as she jumped up and down after winning, holding up the detached medallion, ribbon and tiny connector piece for cameras in the mixed zone. Figure skater Alysa Liu followed with a viral clip, joking that “my medal don’t need the ribbon” as she displayed her own separated gold. German biathlete Justus Strelow and Swedish cross-country star Ebba Andersson have also seen their bronze and silver hardware fail while still on site at the Games.
The incidents are more than just awkward optics. For athletes who have spent years chasing this hardware, a medal that cracks, chips or hits the floor within hours raises serious questions about quality control at one of the world’s most scrutinised sporting events. Early analysis from national committees and local media points to a weak link where the heavy medallion meets a softer pin or clasp system, making the awards vulnerable when athletes jump, dance or even let the medal swing freely. The controversy also taps into a wider pattern, echoing complaints about tarnishing and damage to Paris 2024 medals that forced organisers there to process hundreds of replacement requests once athletes went home.
Under growing pressure, Milano Cortina officials have shifted into damage-control mode. Chief games operations officer Andrea Francisi has confirmed that organisers are “fully aware” of the failures and are now examining exactly what went wrong in collaboration with partners, with a clear mandate that the medals must be flawless at the moment they’re placed around an athlete’s neck. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and other delegations say they are awaiting guidance on potential fixes or replacement policies, while the organising committee weighs whether a more robust attachment solution or backup stock will be needed before the next wave of podiums hits the global feed.
