Dylan Martinez/Reuters via Imagn Images
Every athlete who headed to the 2026 Winter Olympics has dreamed of having a medal draped around their neck. However, some winners have had that momentous occasion derailed by the awards that keep breaking during their well-earned celebrations.
There isn’t any prize money up for grabs at the Winter Olympics, as the athletes who compete in the international showdown are vying to help bring some glory to their country and do everything in their power to earn one of the three medals up for grabs in the 116 events that comprise The Games in Milano Cortina in 2026.
Earning a spot on the podium is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for a significant chunk of the people who compete in the Olympics, and while you can theoretically put a price on the medal they’re presented with, they’re largely viewed as a priceless relic that the winners will cherish for the rest of their days.
The quality (or lack thereof) of the medals that were handed out at the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 ended up making headlines, and it appears a similar issue arisen in Italy in 2026.
The medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina keep breaking while athletes are celebrating
Winning a medal at the Olympics is a moment that’s certainly worth celebrating, and it’s very common to see athletes literally jump for joy as they soak in the culmination of the years of sacrifice and hard work that led up to earning theirs.
However, according to ESPN, a number of competitors have dealt with medal malfunctions that have emerged as a bit of a trend in Milano Cortina due to an apparent issue with the clasps that are used to attach the gold, silver, and bronze to the ribbons that allow athletes to display them.
Breezy Johnson, who won the gold for the United States in the alpine downhill over the weekend, issued a warning after her medal fell off shortly after she received it, saying, “Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke…It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken.”
The outlet notes Germany’s Justus Strelow also encountered a similar problem when the bronze he won in the biathlon ended up on the ground while he was celebrating with his teammates after he received it, and American figure skater Alysa Liu also showed off the broken gold she earned in the team event.
Olympics officials acknowledged they are aware of the problem and are working on a fix, with the head of games operations saying:
“We are aware of the situation. We have seen the images. Obviously we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem .
But obviously 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.”
It’s not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things, but it’s certainly not ideal.