The Organizing Committee of the Tokyo Olympic Games explained on Wednesday that the flaking gold on Chinese trampoline athlete X. Zhu’s gold medal was actually a coating applied to the surface of the medal, not a defect in the medal itself, after the “quality” issue with the medal was exposed.
The committee remarked that the coating was applied so as to prevent minor blemishes and scratches from showing up on the medals.
The Medal’s Quality is not Compromised, the Committee Assured Us.
On Saturday, X. Zhu gave her Olympic gold medal and her jersey to the Tianjin Sports Museum. Zhu claims that he made the contribution so that more people might experience the Olympic spirit and marvel at an actual Olympic gold medal.
To our knowledge, X. Zhu is the first Chinese athlete to give up one of their gold medals from the Tokyo Olympics.
Pictures of Chinese trampoline athlete X. Zhu’s gold medal from the Tokyo Olympic Games were shared to the Chinese social media site Sina Weibo on Monday night, prompting a debate about the “quality” of the medals produced for the most recent Olympic Games.
X. Zhu Demonstrates the Wear and Tear on her Medal With a Series of Three Images.
Allow me to explain: “Let me clarify this… I didn’t mean to peel the thing off at first, I just discovered that there was a small mark (like pic one) on my medal. I thought that it was probably just dirt, so I rubbed it with my finger and found that nothing changed, so then I picked at it and the mark got bigger,” Zhang wrote in a comment below the images.
Nearly ten thousand internet users commented on her message, fascinated by the idea that a medal from the Tokyo Games may be destroyed. Some people have voiced their shock and disapproval at the incident, arguing that the gold medallist shouldn’t be given a faulty medal despite all of their hard work.
Some online commenters fueled the fire by drawing parallels between the medal and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games’ medals, which were inlaid with jade as well as plated with gold.
One netizen said on Sina Weibo, “The fact that the medals for the Tokyo Games were manufactured from recycled materials is too experimental for me. Those medalists deserve something more significant.”
The metal for the Tokyo medals was salvaged from donated Japanese electronics, marking a first for the Olympics.
Last Words
In spite of concerns over the quality of the Tokyo medals, some have claimed they can respect Japan’s determination to make them out of recyclable materials. Thanks for reading our article X. Zhu Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Continue reading and have a good day.
