Olympian Lynn Williams Shares How She Broke Her Paris 2024 Gold Medal

US Olympic soccer star Lynn Williams accidentally turned her gold medal from the Paris 2024 Games into a coaster.

Williams, who secured her first gold medal with her team in the women’s soccer final against Brazil, saw her medal damaged during the team’s exuberant victory celebration. The 31-year-old athlete opened up about the mishap in a TikTok video on August 22, sharing detailed insights into how the incident unfolded.

She candidly explained that she got “carried away with the celebratory actions,” which not only took a toll on her medal but also on her health, as she admitted, “I got myself sick.” During the video, she prepared soup and buttered an English muffin, before finally addressing the much-anticipated question: “How did I break my medal? How did I get the world’s most expensive coaster?”

Providing context, Williams pointed out that the medal was originally attached to a blue ribbon designed to hang around the recipient’s neck. Directing attention to the edge of the medal, she noted a missing bar that once held the string attached to the ribbon.

While footage of Williams showed her swinging the medal above her head at an after-party in Paris, she clarified that this wasn’t how the medal broke. “I’m sure it didn’t help but that’s not how it broke,” she asserted. Williams described how the medal was initially fine as she swung it around, but things took a turn when she started dancing.

“I had it on my shoulder like a little purse, and I was just jumping, dancing, jumping. I jumped down, and it just fell off,” Williams recounted. Amid the dancing crowd, she frantically searched the floor for her gold piece. “I was roaming around trying to get my medal off the ground,” she remembered.

Sadly, her medal now bears a chip on the outer edge from where it hit the floor, and the small bar that once secured it to the ribbon is missing. Reflecting on the incident, Williams acknowledged, “Probably swinging it around didn’t help,” but added, “I just think they should have made these better. They should have made these more sturdy, and honestly, I can’t be faulted for that.”

As of now, Williams is uncertain if the medal can be fixed; she hasn’t heard back from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Before any decision from the Committee, she’ll need to prove that the medal was indeed damaged.

Despite the mishap, Williams remained light-hearted about the situation, saying, “Honestly, I think it’s a cool, funny story.”

Her honesty and humor were met with a flood of supportive comments from viewers, affirming she wasn’t to blame. “I agree queen, not your fault,” one fan commented. Another chimed in, “They should give you a new one!!!!! That one is defective!!!!”

A third supporter praised her outlook, stating, “Hilarious story! Def should have been made better. The MOST important thing is that you are a gold medalist!!!”