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U.S. skateboarder Nyjah Huston's medal deteriorates after one week

Americans Jagger Easton (L) and Nyjah Houston won respective silver and gold medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 29 in Paris. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
1 of 5 | Americans Jagger Easton (L) and Nyjah Houston won respective silver and gold medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 29 in Paris. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Skateboarder Nyjah Huston is calling for better quality in Olympic medals after his bronze prize showed signs of deterioration just a week after he won it in Paris.

Huston posted photos and videos of his medal Thursday on his Instagram story. He won the medal with a third-place finish in the skateboarding men's street final. Japan's Yuto Horigome won the event. Team USA's Jagger Eaton placed second.

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"Alright, so these Olympic medals look great when they're brand new, but after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat and letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they're apparently not as high quality as you would think," Huston said.

"Look at that thing. It's looking rough, even the front. It's starting to chip off a little. I don't know, Olympic medals, maybe you gotta step up the quality a little bit."

Nyjah Huston shows the bronze medal he won at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Thursday in Laguna Beach, Calif. Photo by Nyjah Huston/Instagram

Huston, who posted the footage from Laguna Beach, Calif., also said the medal looked like it "went to war and back."

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"I guess the medals are meant to be in cases," Huston wrote. "Not meant for the send."

Each medal from the Paris Olympics includes original fragments of iron from the Eiffel Tower. Gold medals weigh about 1.17 pounds, compared to 1.16 pounds for silver and 1 pound for bronze.

Skateboarder Nyjah Huston shows a close-up view of the back of his bronze medal from Paris 2024 on Aug. 8, 2024, in Laguna Beach, Calif. Photo by Nyjah Huston/Instagram

The International Olympic Committee requires that gold medals are made from at least 92.5% silver. They are plated with 6 grams of gold. Silver medals are made from silver, while the bronze medals are a mix of copper, tin and zinc alloy, according to NPR.

More than 5,000 medals were made for athletes in the Summer Olympics and Paralympics. Team USA totaled an Olympics-best 103 medals through Thursday, 31 more than second-place China.

China's Zheng Haohao, 11, competes in women's skateboarding

China's Zheng Haohao, 11 years old, performs in the women's park skateboarding event during the Paris 2024 Olympics on July 6, 2024. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

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