What’s Behind The Broken Olympic Medals At The 2026 Games?

Winning an Olympic medal is supposed to be the crowning moment of an athlete’s career — a memory preserved in metal and ribbon, meant to last a lifetime. But for several athletes at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, that moment came with an unexpected twist: their medals broke almost as soon as they received them.

Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu, American skier Breezy Johnson, and German biathlete Justus Strelow are among a growing list of Olympians who discovered their medals couldn’t withstand the most natural reaction in the world — celebrating.

Alysa Liu’s Gold Medal Fell Right Off the Ribbon

Alysa Liu, who won gold in the team figure skating event on Feb. 8, was one of the first athletes to publicly share her experience. The 20-year-old revealed that her medal broke shortly after receiving it.

“I was just jumping up and down, as one does to celebrate, and it just dropped,” she told Overtime in an interview posted on Feb. 9. “It just literally fell off of the ribbon. It got very scratched up… pretty dented.”

The damage was significant enough that Liu had to turn in her medal for a replacement. And while she may have preferred the original — flaws and all — that wasn’t an option.

“I actually liked it when it was off the ribbon, but that’s not allowed,” she said. “I had to give it in. I was like, ‘Can’t you just fix this one?’ I’m attached. But it’s OK, I’m detached. Just like it was.”

The quip, delivered with the kind of lighthearted humor that can only come from someone who just achieved a lifelong dream, resonated with viewers. But Liu’s experience was far from an isolated incident.

Breezy Johnson Warned Fellow Medalists in Real Time

That same day, American skier Breezy Johnson won gold in the women’s downhill event on Sunday, Feb. 8, and encountered the exact same problem. Her medal also detached from its ribbon during post-ceremony celebrations.

“Do not jump in them. I was jumping in excitement and it broke,” Breezy told reporters in a post-ceremony interview as she displayed her broken medal on camera. “So there’s the medal, there’s the ribbon, and here’s the little piece that is supposed to go into the ribbon to hold the medal. Yeah, it came apart.”

Johnson went so far as to warn second-place finisher Emma Aicher not to jump while wearing her medal at a joint press conference — a moment that underscored just how quickly word of the problem was spreading among athletes at the Games.

Johnson later showed her broken medal to reporters including People, walking them through the mechanics of the failure once more.

“So there’s the medal. And there’s the ribbon,” she said. “And here’s the little piece that is supposed to go into the ribbon to hold the medal, and yeah, it came apart.”

Despite the break, Johnson stayed hopeful about a resolution. “I’m sure someone will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but it’s a little broken,” she said.

German Biathlon Team Poked Fun at the Problem

The issue wasn’t limited to American athletes. Also on that same day, the German biathlon team posted a video to Instagram showing Justus Strelow stopping in the middle of celebrating his bronze medal with his team after it fell to the ground.

The team leaned into the humor of the situation, captioning their post with a pointed question: “Are they not meant to be celebrated?”

The moment captured on video — a joyous group celebration halted mid-cheer by a medal clattering to the ground — highlighted an irony that was becoming hard to ignore. These medals, designed to honor athletic excellence at the highest level of international competition, appeared unable to withstand the simple, human act of jumping for joy.

Officials Say They’re Working on a Fix

The string of broken medals caught the attention of Games organizers, and the matter was addressed publicly the following day.

Andrea Francisi, the Milano Cortina 2026 Chief Games Operations Officer, spoke about the issue at a press briefing on Feb. 9. He confirmed officials are “fully aware of the situation” and looking into why the awards keep detaching from their ribbon, according to People.

Francisi acknowledged the weight of the moment for the athletes involved, and emphasized that organizers wanted to ensure the problem was corrected going forward.

“We’re going to pay particular attention to the medals and obviously this is something that [we want] everything [to] be perfect when the medal is handed over, because this is probably one of the most important moments for the athletes,” he said. “So we’re working on it.”

A Recurring Pattern Across Multiple Sports

What makes the situation particularly notable is the breadth of the problem. The broken medals didn’t surface in just one sport or one ceremony. Figure skating, alpine skiing, and biathlon — three very different disciplines — all saw athletes dealing with the same issue on the same day. The common thread was the medal itself and the connection point between the award and its ribbon.

Liu described her medal as “very scratched up” and “pretty dented” after it dropped. Johnson identified a specific small piece designed to connect the medal to the ribbon as the point of failure. Strelow’s medal simply fell off during team celebrations.

For athletes who spend years — often their entire lives — training for a single Olympic moment, the medal ceremony is deeply meaningful. It is the tangible symbol of that achievement. Having it break within minutes of receiving it adds an unwanted footnote to what should be a purely triumphant occasion.

What Comes Next

As of the Feb. 9 press briefing, Francisi and organizers had not detailed a specific technical fix or timeline for resolving the issue. What they did make clear is that they understand the significance of the problem and are actively working to address it for future medal ceremonies during the Games.

For now, athletes like Liu and Johnson are taking the situation in stride — with humor, grace, and the confidence that comes from knowing a broken ribbon can’t diminish what they accomplished on the ice and on the slopes.