Canoeist Zheng Pengfei complained that the Tokyo Olympic medals became scrap iron: it oxidized after 2 years
On July 16, kayaker Zheng Pengfei posted a message complaining about the silver medal he won at the Tokyo Olympics, which began to oxidize after only 2 years and had become scrap iron.
Zheng Pengfei wrote: "I put this Olympic medal at home for nearly 2 years, take it out today and take a look, that's it, it's scrap iron, time proves that this is made of scrap, the quality of any competition medal in China is better than this, who wants it?" It may also be that I did not store properly, on a case-by-case basis, and did not deliberately target anyone. It is also for the few cases of medal oxidation in my family. ”
On August 3, 2021, Zheng Pengfei won the second place in the men's 1000m double canoe canoe at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Zheng Pengfei is not the first athlete to discover the "poor quality" of medals at the Tokyo Olympics. In August 2021, Zhu Xueying, the women's trampoline champion at the Tokyo Olympics, posted that her "gold medal peeled off".
Not only Zhu Xueying, Tokyo Olympic men's 200-meter medley champion Wang Shun also said in an interview that his gold medal was cut off his skin, and he no longer dared to pick it.
According to the Guangming Daily, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee responded to the "gold medal peeling" by saying that the peeling part was not gold plating, but a coating film applied to the surface of the medal, which "does not affect the quality of the medal itself." The reason why a film is applied to the surface of the medal is to prevent fine scratches, dents and stains on the medal, which plays a protective role. The material of the film itself means that it does not permanently adhere to the surface of the medal.
According to Red Star News, the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee has said that the raw materials for the medals of the Tokyo Olympics are precious metals extracted from waste mobile phones and electronic equipment.
[Source: Jiupai News Comprehensive Party Social Account, Guangming Daily, Red Star News]