Paris 2024 offers new Olympic medal after Huston says bronze looks ‘like it went to war’

Olympic skateboarder Nyjah Huston appears to have gone from a bronze medalist to a bronze medalist of sorts at the Paris Games.

The American won bronze on July 29, but 10 days later posted an Instagram story The medal appears to be significantly corroded, the surface looks dull and rusty.

“Okay, these Olympic medals look great when they’re brand new, but after letting them sit on my skin for a while with some sweat and then having my friends wear them on the weekend, apparently they’re not as high quality as you would think,” he said. “I mean, look at that thing. It looks rough. Even the front. It’s starting to chip a little bit. So yeah, I don’t know, Olympic medals, you might need to step up the quality a little bit.”

Houston added in a next post that the ‘medal looks like it’s been to war and back again’.

The Paris 2024 medals will feature a piece of the Eiffel Tower as a nod to the host city, but the exact composition of the medals will vary per Olympic Games. Gold medals are actually usually silver with a gold coating. Bronze medals are usually a mix of copper, zinc and tin. Bronze combines with oxygen in the air If left unprotected, it will form a dull patina, which would explain the damage to Huston’s medal. The rate at which bronze degrades depends on the ratio of metals in the alloy, although cheaper metals often accelerate the process.

“Like any ordinary alloy, exposure to moisture will lead to decay. But an alloy with cheap metals will catalyze the process,” Neeraj Gupta, a sculptor, told Indian Express.

A spokesperson for Paris 2024 told Time that athletes would receive replacement medals for damaged medals.

“Paris 2024 is aware of a social media post from an athlete whose medal showed signs of damage a few days after it was awarded,” the spokesperson said. “Paris 2024 is working closely with Monnaie de Paris, the institution responsible for the production and quality control of medals, and with the athlete’s National Olympic Committee to assess the medal and understand the circumstances and cause of the damage.”

Huston, one of the most decorated skateboarders of all time, doesn’t have much experience with bronze medals: he usually wins gold. The 29-year-old is a six-time world champion in street skateboarding and has won gold at the Summer X Games 12 times.