The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina promised durable medals made from recycled metals melted in renewable-energy furnaces. However, a small design flaw in the medals turned this durability promise into a very public stress test.
Shortly after winning gold in downhill skiing, U.S. athlete Breezy Johnson experienced a medal malfunction when the ribbon attachment snapped clean as she jumped in celebration. She was not alone in this experience, as other athletes, including U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu and German biathlete Justus Strelow, also faced similar issues with their medals breaking or detaching.
Italy’s organizing committee quickly launched an investigation with the state mint and announced a fix for the faulty medals. The exact details of the fix have not been disclosed, but experts suggest that the primary failure may have been due to an undersize part or a weak joint in the medal’s design.
Metallurgical engineering experts like Laura Bartlett from Missouri University of Science and Technology explain that the medals’ intricate manufacturing process, which likely involved investment casting to achieve fine details, could have contributed to the design flaw. While some speculated that the subfreezing mountain air caused the breakages, Bartlett clarified that silver and gold do not become brittle at low temperatures.
The problem likely stems from the original design of the ribbon attachment, a common engineering challenge faced by host cities when creating Olympic medals. Each Games has approached the ribbon attachment problem differently, with varying degrees of success. The shift to ribbon-hung designs introduced new challenges that have not been consistently addressed across different Olympic events.
As medal designs become more complex and ambitious, the physical demands on these objects increase. The combination of a recycled-alloy medal with an asymmetric shape and a precision breakaway clasp in subfreezing conditions presented a unique engineering challenge that ultimately led to the failure of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic medals.
In conclusion, while the intention behind the design of these medals was to be sustainable and durable, unforeseen design flaws resulted in a very public demonstration of the importance of robust engineering in the creation of Olympic medals.
