"Stored in the case but was corroded"
Olympic medal quality controversy... Organizing Committee says "We will replace it"
Kim Woo-min, who won the bronze medal in the men's 400m freestyle swimming event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, revealed his discolored medal. Kim said, "It's my first-ever medal, so I'm upset," expressing his disappointment.
In an interview with a media outlet on the 23rd, Kim Woo-min said, "I kept the medal in a special case and hardly took it out," adding, "I opened it once about two days ago and found it had corroded."
Discolored bronze medal revealed by American skateboarder Nyjah Huston [Image source=Screenshot from Nyjah Huston's Instagram]
Earlier, American skateboarder Nyjah Houston also revealed on his Instagram on the 8th that his bronze medal had discolored within ten days of receiving it.
Houston said, "It touched my sweaty skin a few times, and my friends wore it around their necks over the weekend, and the color changed," adding, "The quality seems worse than expected. It looks like it came back from a war."
Following Houston's case and the ensuing controversy over the medal quality, the Olympic organizing committee announced on the 10th that they would replace the medals.
At that time, the organizing committee stated, "We are closely communicating with the Paris Mint, which manages medal production and quality, and the respective National Olympic Committees of the athletes to identify the damage situation and causes. Medals are the most precious to athletes, and damaged medals will be systematically replaced and reissued by the Paris Mint."
Kim Woo-min, who won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is holding up his medal on the 5th (local time) at the Korea House in Paris. [Photo by Olympic Photo Joint Press Corps]
The Guardian reported, "Bronze medals, which are generally an alloy of copper, zinc, and tin, can be damaged by combining with oxygen in the air," adding, "The rate of damage varies depending on the metal ratio in the alloy, but cheaper metals often corrode faster."
Kim Woo-min said he read about this in an article and added, "Until then, my medal was fine. So I thought there was no problem and felt relieved, but this happened."
He continued, "It's my first Olympic medal and especially precious, so it hurts my heart to see it like this. I hope they replace it."
Kim Woo-min won the bronze medal with a time of 3 minutes 42.50 seconds in the men's 400m freestyle final held at La D?fense Arena in Paris, France, on the 28th of last month. This is the first Olympic swimming medal for Korea in 12 years since Park Tae-hwan.
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