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United States Women’s National Team striker Lynn Williams didn’t take long to accidentally break the Olympic gold medal that she won in Paris.
Williams, who scored in the USWNT’s 4-1 victory over Germany in the group stage, revealed that the medal is now serving as “the world’s most expensive” coaster after a tragic accident following the games.
@lynnwilliams9 Story time… 🥇
“Obviously, you guys all saw me swinging the thing around…ironically that’s not how it broke…we were dancing,” Williams said in a recent TikTok video. “I had it on my shoulder like a little purse, and I was just jumping — dancing, jumping — and I jumped down, and it just fell off.
“So, everybody was dancing, and I was roaming around, trying to get my medal off the ground. It has a dent now. So, it’s definitely one-of-a-kind, and the little bar [inside the medal] is gone.”
“So, I don’t know what happened. The bar got loose, and it fell out. Probably, swinging it around didn’t help, but I just think they should have made these better. They should have made them more sturdy, and honestly, I can’t be faulted for that.”
The “bar” that Williams refers to is a literal piece of the Eiffel Tower embedded in each of the medals. It was the distinct, defining feature of the medals in Paris. So to lose that aspect is a huge bummer.
But it’s also not really a surprise.
Superstar skateboarder Nyjah Huston shared images of his rapidly deteriorating medal just days after winning bronze in Paris.
“These Olympic medals look great when they’re brand new,” Huston said. “But after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for a little bit and letting my friend wear it over the weekend, they’re apparently not as high quality as you would think.”
Huston showed offa medal that had badly faded on both sides. So Williams isn’t alone, and it appears the medals from Paris aren’t all that you’d expect them to be.