An Irish athlete said he had to return his Olympic bronze medal for research after the award began deteriorating.
Daire Lynch, an Irish rower who placed third in the Double Sculls competition, claimed he needed to have his medal replaced after the condition of it began to decline.
“I wanted to keep mine but they wanted to take it away for research. They want to see what is wrong with the medals,” Lynch said on Ireland AM.
Lynch’s partner in the race, Philip Doyle, said his medal is also quickly falling apart.
“Mine is gone wrecked. It’s nearly gone the next layer down,” Doyle said.
He said the issue is occurring in some gold medals as well, but the bronze “seems to be a chronic issue.”
Lynch and Doyle won the first of two medals Ireland received in rowing competitions at the Paris Olympics. The country won seven medals overall.
Newsweek reached out to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for more information.
The news comes in the wake of another bronze medal controversy involving U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles.
The IOC ruled Chiles must return her bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) invalidated an appeal that gave the gymnast the third-place spot in the floor competition.
Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, who was in third before the appeal was filed, received a bronze medal last week.
The CAS said the appeal was filed four seconds after the one-minute deadline to submit an appeal. The judges rewarded Chiles an additional tenth of a point for a skill not originally credited after the appeal was filed.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) claimed they have timestamped footage that proves the appeal was submitted in time, but the CAS still refuses to reopen the case.
“I have no words,” Chiles said on social media. “This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey.”
Chiles has not returned her medal yet.
“I will approach this challenge as I have others — and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing,” Chiles said.
U.S. officials plan to continue their appeal of the ruling.
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