At the 2026 Milan·Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, even medal ceremonies may need to be toned down.

Bridge Johnson of the U.S. women's alpine ski team won gold in the women's downhill with a time of 1:36.10 at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on the 8th.

But there was little to smile about. Her teammate Lindsey Vonn was injured, and her own medal ended up damaged.

After receiving her gold medal, Johnson shared the joy with teammates and team officials. In the midst of it, the ring connecting the medal and the ribbon broke, and the gold medal dropped straight to the floor. While speaking after the award, Johnson also showed the condition of her medal.

This was not the first medal-damage incident. On the 7th, Sweden's Eva Andersson, who won silver in the women's 10㎞+10㎞ skiathlon in cross-country skiing, also experienced her medal falling off. According to the German newspaper ‘Bild’, the medal was reportedly damaged to the point of being ‘beyond repair’.

USA Today reported, “In one form or another, medals are often damaged or end up needing repair. But it is rare for a medal to break this quickly, right after it is awarded.”

Johnson offered advice drawn from her experience. She said, “If you have the medal, do not jump. I think its weight, heavier than expected, is what caused it to break,” adding, “I am sure someone will fix it, and it is not completely destroyed, but it is definitely broken,” expressing regret.

On the U.S. Ski Team's official social media, they posted a video of Johnson showing the separated medal and added a pointed joke: “Johnson's medal did not pass the jump test.”

These medal-damage incidents are not limited to this Games. At the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, skateboarder Naija Huston posted a photo on social media showing that his medal had badly discolored after just a week. South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min also reported corrosion even though he had kept his medal in its dedicated case.

Lynn Williams of the U.S. women's national soccer team, while celebrating at a party, wore her medal over her shoulder and jumped, dropped it, and the metal ring connecting the medal and the strap came off, leaving a dent. After she was criticized for the incident, she argued, “They should have made it sturdier. I have no reason to be blamed.”

The Olympic medals at this Games used metals recovered from waste, in line with an ‘eco-friendly’ theme. They were cast in induction furnaces powered by renewable energy. The intention was good, but concerns about durability left disappointment.