Chinese Athlete Criticizes Tokyo Olympic Medal Quality as "Trash Made of Iron"

Chinese Canoe Athlete "Chinese-Made is Better"
"High-Purity Silver, Oxidation is Natural" Rebuttal Also

A Chinese athlete who won a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the medal, saying, "After two years, the medal has become scrap iron."

According to China's Global Times on the 19th, Zheng Fenghui, who won the silver medal in the men's canoe sprint double 1000m at the Tokyo Olympics, posted on his social media on the 16th, "The Olympic medal I kept at home for about two years has become 'scrap metal,'" along with a photo.

A Chinese athlete who participated in the Tokyo Olympics claimed that the silver medal had tarnished and posted a photo.
[Photo by Zheng Fenghui SNS capture]

He wrote, "Looking at the Olympic medal I kept at home for about two years now, it has become scrap iron like this," adding, "Chinese-made medals are better," and "I may not have stored it properly, but it is one of the oxidized medals." The medal in the photo he shared had coating peeling off in places and discoloration.

Some commented, "The oxidation of the silver medal is actually proof that it is not fake," and "High-purity silver oxidizes in the air." Chinese netizens comforted him by saying the medal has 'symbolic meaning,' but some also questioned the quality of the medal.

Previously, there was a so-called 'medal quality' controversy at the Tokyo Olympics. In August 2021, trampoline gold medalist Zhu Xueying posted on Chinese social media, "When I rubbed the medal with my finger, it peeled off," along with related photos. At that time, she attached three photos showing the surface of the medal peeling off. In the revealed photos, a stain could be seen on the upper left side of the medal.

Under the posted photos, the athlete added, "It was not intentional," and "I thought the stain was just dust, so I rubbed it with my finger, but it gradually got bigger."

Past Tokyo Olympic trampoline gold medalist Zhu Xueying also revealed a photo, saying her gold medal was peeling off.
[Photo by China state-run Global Times capture]

According to the Global Times at the time, the Japan Mint stated, "We have not confirmed any cases of gold medal surfaces peeling off, and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee will conduct further investigations."

Panipak Wongpattanakit from Thailand, who won the gold medal in the women's taekwondo under 49kg category at the Tokyo Olympics, also requested an exchange, saying her gold medal had peeled off.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.