After winning a gold medal at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu was required to return her medal, a moment that has now turned into a full-blown controversy.
Shortly after the team event win on Sunday, February 8, Liu was celebrating with her teammates when her medal unexpectedly broke, despite the Milano Cortina medals reportedly being the most expensive in Olympic history.
As details of the incident surfaced online, the internet was quick to express disappointment, with one user reacting, “She will forever be thinking about that lost medal.”
Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu had to return her gold medal after it broke during her victory celebration and got “very scratched up”
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The medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics were designed by a team led by Raffaella Paniè and produced by the Italian State Mint using recycled metals from its own production waste and powered by renewable energy, making them the first Olympic medals made entirely from recycled metals.
An estimated “podium value,” or intrinsic metal value, of the medals has reportedly been around $2,400 for gold, approximately $1,400 for silver, and around $5.60 for bronze.
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Despite their hefty value, especially for gold and silver, many Olympians have reported their medals breaking off or detaching from their ribbons within hours of being awarded.
One such mishap was experienced by USA gold medalist Alysa Liu, who shared a video of her team event gold medal completely detached from its official blue ribbon on Monday, February 9, on her Instagram account.
In the clip, the caption read, “My medal don’t need the ribbon,” as Liu held the gold disc in one hand and the blue ribbon in the other.
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The incident sparked intense criticism aimed at Olympic organizers and the medal quality, with one angry viewer writing online, “TBH the way the Olympics has been acting I’m not surprised the medals are shoddy construction.”
A second wrote, “This is the second olympian i’ve seen who’s medal broke while they were jumping up and down.”
The 20-year-old revealed in a recent interview that, despite her attachment to the broken medal, she was “not allowed” to keep it
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A third quipped, “That’s because they bought them on TikTok shop.”
“When the medals are ordered from TEMU,” joked one netizen, while others echoed, “Sad that an Olympic medal doesn’t reflect the quality of such an achievement in any way…”
Amid the controversy, Alysa revealed in a recent interview with Overtime, “I was just jumping up and down, as one does to celebrate, and it just dropped. It just literally fell off of the ribbon. It got very scratched up… pretty dented.”
Liu added that she “actually liked it when it was off the ribbon” and asked if it could simply be repaired.
However, she said Olympic officials told her, “That’s not allowed,” and the 20-year-old Olympian “had to give it in.”
“I was like, ‘Can’t you just fix this one?’ I’m attached. But it’s OK, I’m detached. Just like it was.”
Apart from Alysa, multiple other Olympians, including another USA gold medalist, Breezy Johnson, also reported their medals breaking
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Reportedly, Alysa was given a replacement gold medal yesterday morning, February 10, in time for her scheduled media appearances.
The medal exchange came shortly after Milano Cortina Chief Games Operations Officer Andrea Francisi confirmed that an investigation had been opened into the matter to assess the quality of the medals being awarded to athletes.
Francisi said in a public statement, “We are fully aware of the situation. We are looking into exactly what the problem is.”
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“We are going to pay maximum attention to the medals, and obviously, this is something we want to be perfect when the medal is handed over because this is one of the most important moments for the athletes.”
Moreover, Liu was not the only athlete to experience a medal mishap at the 2026 Games, as several other medalists reported their prizes breaking or detaching from their ribbons during celebrations under similar circumstances.
The controversy drew significant backlash, especially since the Winter Olympics medals are reportedly the most expensive in Olympic history
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Team USA gold medalist Breezy Johnson, who won in women’s downhill alpine skiing, showed her broken medal to reporters at a press conference, saying, “It is heavy, it’s broken. It’s a look. I was jumping up and down in excitement, then it just fell off.”
German biathlete Justus Strelow’s mixed relay bronze medal also fell off its ribbon while he was celebrating with teammates, in videos captured by media outlets.
Meanwhile, Swedish cross-country skier Ebba Andersson’s silver medal reportedly fell into the snow shortly after being awarded and broke into two pieces.
Reportedly, athletes whose medals were damaged have received replacements, similar to Liu, and the Milano-Cortina Organizing Committee has encouraged all other affected athletes to return their damaged prizes through “appropriate channels” for prompt repair.
Officials also stated that they are working closely with the State Mint to ensure a “targeted fix” is applied to all future medals handed out during the remainder of the Games, in order to prevent further incidents.
“That makes me so sad, another person jumping up and down and it breaks,” wrote one social media user
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