Drama hasn’t escaped Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026. They are running out of food even before the competitions begin. Norovirus is spreading through the Olympic Village and postponing events. The protests in Italy, along with the accusation that Canada sabotaged the USA’s chances in Skeleton, make for a pretty chaotic Olympics. Another scandal has been added to the list, this time involving figure skating.

The competition was nail-biting, with the United States narrowly holding off Japan to retain the Olympic team figure skating title. The final standings read 69 points for the United States, 68 for Japan, and 60 for Italy. The controversy unfolded away from the ice as the Japanese have filed an official complaint regarding the quality of the podium in which they accepted the medal.

“The Japanese national team has filed an official complaint about the podiums, that is, about the material of their surface,” reporter Jackie Wong said in a statement on Twitter. What was wrong with the podiums? Well, for one, they damaged the expensive skates. 

Japan team official Yosuke Takeuchi said the podium in Milan was “a rough, asphalt-like substance made of cut stone”. He further explained that it caused significant damage to their skates. “Repairs to the chipped blades were carried out this morning at a specialist workshop,” he said in a statement, adding that skaters from each of the three medal-winning teams were affected.

The home team, Italy, won the bronze medal, defeating Georgia. It was a landmark moment in Italian history as it was their first medal in the team event. But even the home team was dissatisfied with the podium.

“We didn’t realise once we were on the podium that there was something weird about the surface of the podium.” Marco Fabbri of Team Italy said, “There were some small stones, almost. We couldn’t feel it on the podium. But then, as soon as we stepped down (onto the ice) everyone was like, ‘I cannot move anymore, I cannot slide anymore.’ It was the same feeling as having some glue under the blade. And so today we had to sharpen the blade.”

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Compared to other controversies, this may seem like a pretty minor error. However, it can do some reputational damage when combined with the food shortage and the virus outbreak. Such basic organizational issues are unexpected at a global event of this magnitude. However, the Milano Cortina Organising Committee has tried to make some reparations after this complaint. 

“During the Figure Skating Team Event medal ceremony, the anti-slip surface of the podium caused some damage to the athletes’ skates. Milano Cortina 2026 is taking steps to replace the surface to prevent a recurrence,” The committee told Yahoo Sports in a statement. MCOC further committed to repairing the damage “in agreement with ISU (International Skating Union).”

They made a skate-sharpening service available while offering an additional training session to the impacted. The management will need to ensure the same doesn’t happen at the remaining events.  While organisers moved quickly to address the podium concerns, another quality-control issue soon surfaced, raising fresh questions about the Games’ overall preparation.

Winter Olympics Investigate Broken Medals After Multiple Complaints

Slowly but surely, the Winter Olympics in Cortina are turning into a nightmare for the athletes. Every athlete dreams of winning the gold medal at the Olympics. They work their whole lives to get a shot at it. When they finally achieve everything they have dreamed of, it is supposed to be a landmark moment. However, for many of them, it has been marred by the quality of the medals, which have broken hours after they received them.

USA’s gold medallists, Breezy Johnson and Alysa Liu, announced that the ribbon had come away from the medal. “So there’s the medal. And there’s the ribbon,” Liu told reporters. “And here’s the little piece that is supposed to go into the ribbon to hold the medal, and yeah, it came apart.” The same issue was faced by the German Biathlon team.

Andrea Francisi, the Milan-Cortina 2026 Chief Games Operations Officer, said the organisers are investigating the issue. “We are fully aware of the situation,” Francisi said. “We are looking into exactly what the problem is and 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.”

According to BBC Sport, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee “is waiting for organisers to resolve the issue.” Officials have yet to confirm whether athletes will receive replacement medals. At the Paris Summer Olympics, 220 athletes complained about the medals. That management has committed to replacing the medals. Hopefully, the Milan Cortina management does the same.