The process of replacing damaged Olympic medals won by Azerbaijani athletes at the Paris 2024 Summer Games has officially begun after defects were identified in the original awards.
According to the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan, the affected medals will be sent to France in the coming days to be exchanged for newly produced versions. The International Olympic Committee has already raised the issue with Chaumet, the prestigious jewellery house responsible for manufacturing the medals and part of the LVMH group. The company has confirmed that replacements are being carried out in stages, with Azerbaijani athletes now included in the current phase.
The first medals scheduled for replacement belong to taekwondo athlete Gashim Magomedov and Greco-Roman wrestler Hasrat Jafarov. Production of the new medals is expected to take between three and five weeks, after which they will be returned to their owners.
The issue is not limited to Azerbaijan. In the months following the Paris Games, several medallists from different countries reported visible oxidation and deterioration of the medal surface, with some claiming the awards began to lose their original finish within weeks of the closing ceremony. The IOC has since worked with the manufacturer to address the problem and ensure that replacement medals meet the expected quality standards.
While the controversy has cast an unwelcome shadow over what was otherwise a landmark Games in the French capital, officials insist that affected athletes will receive restored medals worthy of their Olympic achievements.
