Why Do the 2026 Olympic Medals Keep Breaking? The Truth…

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There’s certainly a crack in the Olympic medals’ foundation.

Following the surprising discovery that gold medals won by Team USA’s Breezy Johnson and Alysa Liu at the 2026 Winter Olympics were breaking, the organization has acknowledged they are aware of a problem with the medals’ quality.

After receiving reports of problems with a limited number of medals, the organizing committee quickly investigated, collaborating with the State Mint, which made them, according to Olympic committee spokesperson Luca Casassa at a press briefing on February 11th. They’ve found a fix and are now implementing it.

Athletes who received medals with defects are asked to return them so they can be fixed and sent back quickly. The organizers of Milano Cortina 2026 want to make sure all medals – representing the highest achievement for each athlete – are made to the best possible quality and carefully handled.

Although officials haven’t said what’s causing the medals to break, some believe the problem lies with the clasp that attaches the medal to its ribbon. The Guardian reports that this clasp is designed to break away easily – a safety feature required by law – to prevent winners from getting injured while wearing the medals.

TopMob News has contacted Olympic officials regarding the missing medals, but hasn’t received a response yet.

I’ve been following Liu’s situation closely, and it’s great to see things are moving forward with her Olympic medal! She shared a video on Instagram just a few days ago, on February 8th, showing her gold medal – which she won in the Team event – had come loose from its ribbon. She’s now confirmed she had to send it back to get a replacement, which is understandable, and I’m glad they’re taking care of it.

Oh my gosh, she told Overtime about this and it was so cute! She was talking about a little issue with something – I don’t even know what, honestly, I was too focused on her – and she just had to ask them to fix it! She said, ‘Can you just fix this one? I’m attached,’ and it was the sweetest thing! Then she joked that she’s totally detached, just like the medal was! Seriously, she’s perfect. I’m obsessed with everything she does, even admitting she’s a little attached to getting things right! And she was wearing her new trophy while telling the story – it was everything!

I was so thrilled for Liu when she won the gold! She told reporters that as soon as the medal was actually placed around her neck, she just burst into joyful jumping – she said it felt like it ‘just dropped’ and she couldn’t contain her excitement.

She explained that it simply came loose from the ribbon. It was also quite scratched and dented.

Johnson, who earned a medal for her outstanding performance in the women’s downhill race on February 8th, also had her trophy fall while celebrating with her teammates.

The skier explained to reporters right after the ceremony that they were so thrilled they jumped for joy, and that’s when the medal broke. They showed the medal, the ribbon, and the small piece that connects the medal to the ribbon, saying it had simply come undone.

Johnson hasn’t said whether she’s gotten a new medal, but she seems to be taking the situation in good spirits and isn’t too worried about it.

“I’m sure someone will fix it,” she joked. “It’s not crazy broken, but it’s a little broken.”

Keep reading to see more viral moments from the 2026 Winter Olympics…

A cameraman captured a heartwarming moment of U.S. skiers Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin embracing after completing their second run in the women’s team combined slalom competition.

Biathlete Lou Jeanmonnot of France celebrated her silver medal win in the women’s 15km individual biathlon event by playing with the official mascots, Milo and Tina, from the Milan-Cortina Olympics. She received the plush toys as part of her prize.

After completing the super-G race, skier Dmytro Shepiuk wrote a message of support for Ukrainians on a sticky note.

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto is surprised by her score in the women’s singles free skating team event.

Speedskater Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands cried tears of joy after discovering she’d broken the Olympic record in the women’s 1,000-meter race.

China’s Eileen Gu competes in the women’s freestyle slopestyle—which earned her a silver medal.

Oh my gosh, seeing Maxim Naumov after his short program just wrecked me. He was holding a photo of his parents – his late parents – so tightly. It was heartbreaking and beautiful all at once. You could just feel how much they meant to him, even after everything. I swear, that image is burned into my brain. It really shows how much he skates for them, you know?

A composite image shows off the many tricks seen in the women’s freestyle slopestyle. 

Figure skater Ekaterina Kurakova of Poland celebrated her performance with teammates, holding up a plush pierogi—a popular and well-loved food in Poland.

No, it’s Team Austria’s ski jumper Julia Muehlbacher.

Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp of Austria zoom by during the luge women’s doubles.

The figure skating team who won the medal took a selfie with a special Olympic Edition Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 while celebrating on the podium.

Lindsey Vonn, a U.S. skier, appeared focused and determined while training just days after suffering an ACL tear in a crash.

Alysa Liu, representing the United States, performs a Biellmann spin during her short program in the women’s single skating competition.

Jennifer Dodds of Team Great Britain looked very anxious while watching the curling mixed doubles round robin match against South Korea.

Snoop Dogg,serving as an Olympics correspondent for NBC, tries his hand at curling at a practice.

Evan Bates and Madison Chock, both U.S. figure skaters and a couple in real life, seem perfectly in sync when they perform their rhythm ice dance.

Laila Edwards, the first Black woman to play Olympic hockey for the U.S., competes against Sara Cajanova of the Czech Republic during the game between the United States and the Czech Republic.

During the men’s snowboard big air qualifying round, Australian snowboarder Valentino Guseli embraced Czech athlete Jakub Hrones.

Bulgarian ski jumper Vladimir Zografski hits the brakes during a training session.

Korey Dropkin, an American curler, cheered with excitement after his team won against Switzerland in a mixed doubles curling match.

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2026-02-13 00:50