Imagine earning an Olympic medal after years of practice and sacrifice, only to watch it break apart before your eyes. Well, a few suffered this fate at the Milan Winter Olympics. Breezy Johnson became the second American to won an Olympic gold in the women’s downhill event. While that accolade will be etched to her name for the coming years, the physical medal representing it broke down hours after.

“It’s definitely heavy. Heavier than I expected,” Johnson said about her medal. Well, is that the reason it broke apart? Let’s know more about why these medals are breaking. But first, lets take a brief look on how many Olympic medals Johnsons has.

How many Olympic medals does Breezy Johnson have?

Breezy Johnson has just one Olympic medal, one that came in Milan Coritna this Sunday. Apart from the Olympics, Johnson is a two-time World Champion, having won gold in both the Downhill and Team Combined at the 2025 World Championships. Now coming to the issue with her medals.

Did Breezy Johnson break her gold medal?

Yes, she did. Shortly after Breezy Johnson completed celebrating her gold medal, the medal detached from its ribbon and fell apart. Johnson humorously held a “show-and-tell” for reporters, displaying the separate pieces.

The problem occurred when Johnson started jumping and carried the medal around her neck. She noted that it felt heavier than expected and speculated, “I think that’s maybe why it broke.”

After suffering this fate, Johnson warned, “Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke. I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken.”

And well, Breezy Johnson isn’t an isolated case.

Why are Olympic medals breaking at Milan Cortina? Reason behind this

A TV broadcast in Germany caught a moment on camera when biathlete Justus Strelow realized the mixed relay bronze he’d won Sunday had fallen off the ribbon and was on the floor.

However, the event officials are currently investigating why a “spate of mishaps” has caused medals to break or detach from their ribbons during the first week.

Milan’s Chief games operation officer, Andrea Francisi, assured, “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.”

One leading theory suggests the weight being too heavy. Well, the gold and silver weigh roughly 500 grams each. The momentum of such a heavy object during jumping celebrations may exceed the strength of the small attachment points.

What happened to Alysa Liu’s Olympic gold medal?

Other than Breezy Johnson, Alysa Liu has also faced this problem. Just like Johnson, shortly after Liu received her gold medal for figure skating, the ribbon that was holding it got detached.

Liu shared a video on social media showing the medal and its official ribbon held in separate hands with the humorous caption, “My medal don’t need the ribbon”.

Other than these two, Justus Strelow reported his medal snapping.

Are Olympic medal problems emerging at Milan-Cortina 2026?

Getting to the crux of the problem, yes the 2026 medals are facing some problems. These medals feature two interlocking parts that represent various “dual” concepts, such as Milan and Cortina, and the athlete and the team.

Thus, not just Breezy Johnson, some competitors, such as Swedish skier Ebba Andersson even reported their medals literally “broke in two” upon hitting the snow.

The piece of metal is produced by the Italian State Mint (IPZS). They are made using recycled metals and an eco-friendly, non-toxic finish. While it’s sustainable, there seems to be some issue with the built. Hopefully, the Milan organizers figure this out soon.