Italy offers rapid repair for damaged Olympic medals after athletes complain

Olympic organizing committee spokesman urged affected athletes to return their medals for immediate repair

Italy's national mint will repair faulty medal fixings for athletes at the Milan Cortina Olympics, organizers confirmed on Tuesday. The problem, identified in the opening days of the Winter Games, involves ribbons and clasps, rather than the gold, silver, or bronze medal designs themselves.

Olympic organizing committee spokesman Luca Casassa confirmed, "A limited number of medals have had a few problems." He added that a "targeted intervention" was agreed with Rome's Zecca dello Stato (state mint), which produced the awards.

Casassa urged affected athletes to return their medals for immediate repair. "Athletes who have medals with problems are invited to give them back through the appropriate channels," he said, "so that they can be immediately repaired."

Andrea Francisi, Milano Cortina Chief Games Operations Officer, addressed the "unusual situation" on Monday. "We are fully aware of the situation and you have seen the pictures," he told reporters at a press conference.

Among those affected is American downhill skiing champion Breezy Johnson, who displayed her cracked and chipped medal to reporters (AP)

"We are looking into what exactly the problem is." He added that organizers would "pay maximum attention to the medals ... so that everything will be perfect because this is one of the most important things for the athletes."

Among those affected is American downhill skiing champion Breezy Johnson, who displayed her cracked and chipped medal to reporters. "It is heavy, it’s broken. It’s a look," she remarked, explaining, "I was jumping up and down in excitement, then it just fell off."

She is not alone; German biathlete Justus Strelow reportedly saw his bronze medal break during team celebrations, while Swedish cross-country skier Ebba Andersson's silver medal from the women's skiathlon also suffered damage.