MILAN —Handle your medals with care! That’s the lesson learned by athletes at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Shortly after receiving their medals, several athletes noticed theirs were broken. Olympic organizers are on it, promising to investigate the issue closely after this surprising mishap during the Games’ opening weekend.
Breezy Johnson, the women’s downhill ski gold medalist, shared her experience. She got a bit too excited and jumped, which caused her medal to break. “I’m sure someone will fix it,” she reassured fans, noting it wasn’t severely damaged.
In a similar moment, German biathlete Justus Strelow had his bronze medal fall off while dancing with his teammates. He attempted to reattach it but realized a small piece had broken, leaving his medal on the floor.
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu also faced a medal mishap, showcasing her detached gold medal on social media. “My medal don’t need the ribbon,” she humorously stated.
Andrea Francisi, chief games operations officer for the organizing committee, acknowledged the problem, saying they’ve seen the footage and are actively looking into it. “We’re paying maximum attention to this matter,” he stated. After all, receiving a medal is a dream come true for many athletes, and organizers want everything to be perfect at that moment.
The excitement at the Olympics is palpable, but these incidents remind all that even medals can have their flaws. It’ll be interesting to see how organizers address this unique challenge.
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