The International Olympic Committee, or the IOC, said, “The medals are the most coveted objects of the Games and the most precious for the athletes.” That is definitely true. Even the gold medal isn’t really gold, but rather made of at least 92.5% silver and plated with 6 grams of gold. So, these athletes who compete in the tournament are doing it for the honor of it. Hence, what happens when these very objects become damaged?

Of course, they would call the organization out. And by now, you must be aware of the troubles the IOC has found themselves in. While this next athlete hasn’t publicly come out with any grievances, the seemingly visible damages to his gold medal has caught the internet’s eyes.

We are talking about the Olympic rookie, Stephen Curry‘s first-ever gold. Having arrived at the charity golf event with Ayesha Curry, held at Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California, with his medal in tow, there was a lot of excitement among Curry’s golf mates to wear the “coveted object”. However, a closer look at it and it showed signs of damage. Needless to say, they were disappointed.

Now, we cannot say for sure if the medal came damaged or was of poor quality, or even if it ended up having damages at the hand of Stephen. As mentioned above, he hasn’t taken to any of his social media platforms or mentioned anywhere else that his medal is damaged. This is the first we are seeing the slights.

So, until the Warriors superstar provides an explanation or an official update regarding the matter, we are left to our own devices. But fear not, we do have a close eye on it. On a similar note, though, this isn’t the first we have seen damage to Olympic medals. And this time, it’s the medal recipients themselves who came forward with the criticism.

Despite confusion surrounding the damage to Stephen Curry’s gold, the IOC did have its hands full with medal controversy

While it’s true that metals can degrade over time, alloys (metals made of two or more metallic elements) do showcase better resistance to such degradation. But when the metals used to make the alloy in itself are cheap, then there isn’t much to do about it, now, is there?

Now, we are not implying that the Paris Mint, the organization responsible for the production and quality control of the medals, has used cheap metals. However, it is one reason why such damages happen so quickly, per Neeraj Gupta’s (metal expert) detailed explanation to the query by Indian Express. Nyjah Huston, one of the most decorated American skateboarders of all time, had come forward with complaints regarding the quality of the bronze medal he received in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A week after receiving the medal, Huston took to social media showing a discolored and jaded bronze medal. He mentioned that after a little sweat and letting his friends wear it over the weekend, “the medal [is] looking like it went to war and back.” Following this, diver Yasmin Harper, who won Britain’s first medal in the Olympics, also admitted that her bronze has “some small bits of tarnishing.” 

Of course, the IOC couldn’t stay quiet given the state of affairs. In a statement to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the IOC said they were “working closely with the Paris Mint and with the National Olympic Committee of the athlete concerned, in order to examine the medal in question to understand the circumstances and the cause of the damage.” 

They also added, “Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Paris Mint and engraved identically.” Hence, if Stephen Curry does bring the issue of his medal quality up, he would probably get it replaced. But again, it is a waiting game. So, stay tuned.

 Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.