Olympic medals for more than 130 winners from the Rio de Janeiro Games last summer are rusting or chipping, according to officials.
“We’re seeing problems with the covering on between 6 or 7% of the medals, and it seems to do with the difference in temperatures,” Rio Games communications officer Mario Andrada told reporters. He added that the decaying was “completely normal” after nine months, since only 1.34% of the medals are actually gold, and 30% of the sterling silver came from recycled silver.
"The most common issue is that they were dropped or mishandled, and the varnish has come off and they've rusted or gone black in the spot where they were damaged," Andrada said.