Skateboarder Nyjah Huston’s bronze medal looks more black and ‘like it went to war and back’
U.S. skateboarder Nyjah Huston won his first Olympics medal last week in Paris.
Or at least it was.
Now it is bronze and black. And also kind of chipped.
The Laguna Beach-based athlete posted a video Thursday on his Instagram Stories in which he showed the medal he won in the street skateboarding competition a lot worse after only 10 days in his possession.
“These Olympic medals look great when they are brand new. But after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and then letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they’re apparently not as high quality as you would think,” said Huston, who showed the back of his medal looking worn down and more black than bronze in several areas.
Yuto Horigome of Japan successfully defends his gold medal in men’s street skateboard competition, beating Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston with a spectacular final trick.
“I mean look at that thing, it’s looking rough. Even the front is starting to chip off a little. So, yeah, I don’t know, Olympic medals, you gotta maybe step up the quality a little bit.”
Japanese skateboarder Yuto Horigome won his second straight Olympic gold medal in the event, while American Jagger Eaton claimed the silver medal.
Huston also posted a photo of his medal being held by someone who seems to be on a hike. “Medal looking like it went to war and back,” he wrote in the caption.
Huston also posted a photo of the medal being worn by someone who appears to be DJing. “At least the medal saw some epic closet sets,” he wrote.
Breakers have long had the argument over art vs. sport, but representing the breaking culture at the Olympics is the main goal.
He added onto another photo: “I guess the medals are meant to be in cases.”
Huston likely knows a thing or two about medals, having won more than two dozen at the World Skateboarding Championship and the X Games between 2010 and now.
Olympic bronze medals are said to consist of 95% copper and 5% zinc. All of the medals from the Paris Games also feature an 18-gram, hexagonal piece of wrought iron from the Eiffel Tower.
The organizers of the Paris Games said in a statement that they are looking into the matter to determine whether Huston should receive a replacement medal.
American interest in the Olympics took a hit in 2021 during the delayed, sparsely attended, many-hours-distant Tokyo Games. Paris has brought it back with a vengeance.
“Paris 2024 is working closely with the Monnaie de Paris, the institution tasked with the production and quality control of the medals, and together with the National Olympic Committee of the athlete concerned, in order to appraise the medal to understand the circumstances and cause of the damage,” the organizers said in a news release.
“The medals are the most coveted objects of the Games and the most precious for the athletes. Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals.”
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