At the 400m freestyle swimming event in the Paris Olympics, the stage was set for the showdown between Katie Ledecky, and Ariarne Titmus. It was going to be an epic showdown between the two rivals. Except, it wasn’t. Titmus never gave away her lead, which she had from the very start, and won the race with a time of 3:57.49. It was a disappointing outing for the American by her standards.

Titmus, on the other hand, had won her sixth individual Olympic medal and was on the moon. A medal is always special. However, what happens when the quality of the medal is not up to the mark and it disintegrates very quickly? Well, that’s what was happening in Paris. The medals were degrading due to bad material. There have been numerous cases of this. But, for this, Titmus has brought in a great practice. According to her, this practice will keep the medal in perfect condition for them to wear. While at first this practice looks bizarre, she believes that is the best way to keep the prized possession safe. She talked about her trick in a recent interview.

Ariarne Titmus’s unique trick to preserve medal from damage

During an interview, Ariarne Titmus was asked about her medals and their conditions amidst numerous reports of bad material. She said, “I’m trying very hard to look after them. They do have a few dings because when they sit there, they kinda ding against each other and they get them scratches.” When worn together, the medals clash against each other and get blemishishes. This was the problem she had been facing after winning two gold medals in the Paris Olympics. Clearly, she’s suffering from success.

She continues, “So I’m not gonna take them anywhere. They’re just gonna stay in a little cupboard house in the little sock I brought them in. Here, I got one here.” At this point, she lifted a sock of hers which carried the medal inside it. She said they’re living right there and they’re gonna stay there. So, she believes that the sock prevents them from damage.

That might actually be a great tactic to use because the socks provide some protection for the medal. They help shield the metal from scratches and damage. However, it’s not a good look for the Olympics if athletes have to take so many measures to prevent one of their life’s biggest achievements from getting destroyed.

Reports of medals getting disintegrated at the Paris Olympics

The medals have caught a bad reputation at the Paris Olympics. A lot of athletes have complained about the unsatisfactory quality of them as they’ve lost color within a week. Skateboarder Nyjah Huston said that while they looked great at first, they would start losing their beauty as days passed by and more and more people started wearing them. In his Instagram story, he said, “Medal looks like it went to war and back.”

Yasmin Harper who won the UK’s first medal in the competition in springboarding, had similar complaints. She said, “Yes, I have looked at mine. A little bit [of tarnishing]. I don’t know, I think it’s like water or anything that gets on the metal, it’s making it go a little bit discolored.” This was before the Olympics ended. She couldn’t even show off her medal in her home yet.

A spokesperson for the Olympics stated that they have acknowledged the complaints and are working to identify the root cause of the problem. They also promised to replace any medals that have been damaged. However, there is no indication that this promise has been fulfilled yet. The Olympics will need to significantly improve the quality of the medals for the Los Angeles Games. Otherwise, the value of these prestigious awards may continue to diminish.